TRADE AND INDUSTRY

British Energy

Christopher Huhne: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate he has made of British Energy's future clean-up costs; and what proportion of the cost he expects to be met through public expenditure.

Malcolm Wicks: British Energy is responsible for estimating its future clean up costs. These estimates are subject to review and approval by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority. The NDA has approved the most recent estimates relating to British Energy's Advanced Gas Cooled Reactors and to longer term waste management and is in the process of reviewing the estimates for Sizewell B.
	As a result of the restructuring of the company, Government will underwrite the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, British Energy's segregated decommissioning fund, to the extent that its liabilities exceed its assets. This fund, into which BE makes certain contributions, covers the costs of decommissioning British Energy's nuclear power stations as well as certain other liabilities relating to waste management. In its annual accounts, the Department records a contingent liability or asset in relation to this undertaking. As at 31 March 2006, the Department recorded a contingent asset of £4.1 billion. This contingent asset is the net of the forecast decommissioning, spent fuel and waste management liabilities to be borne by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, offset against the value of the assets (largely linked to British Energy's future performance) held by the Nuclear Liabilities Fund to meet these liabilities.

Departmental Travel

Mark Oaten: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what support his Department expects to provide towards travel costs for UK experts attending international healthcare standards meetings in 2007-08.

Malcolm Wicks: The Department of Trade and Industry contributes toward the travel cost of UK experts attending international meetings. However, budget allocations for 2007-08 and the schedule for healthcare standards meetings have yet to be confirmed so I am unable to provide information regarding the exact expenditure.

Domestic Violence

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution his Department has made to the Gender Equality Steering Group against domestic violence, as referred to on page 54 of his Department's annual report; and at what cost.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We have no representation on the Gender Equality Steering Group, nor do we contribute directly to the sub-target on domestic violence. The responsibility for these areas lies with the Women and Equality Unit, which transferred to the Department for Communities and Local Government under a machinery of Government reorganisation in 2006.

Energy Efficient Products

Peter Soulsby: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps he is taking to support companies in manufacturing energy efficiency products in the United Kingdom.

Margaret Hodge: The Government remain fully committed to raising product standards and encouraging consumers to use the most energy efficient domestic appliances available. In this, the Government support the Energy Saving Trust's activities to provide advice to consumers about the energy efficiency of the products they use. The Government also support the trust's work in endorsing and vigorously promoting the most energy efficient products under its energy efficiency recommended scheme.
	The Government's Market Transformation programme (MTP) supports measures such as the mandatory EU energy labelling scheme which, for a range of appliances, has been mandatory since 1 January 2001. Energy labels provide clear and easily recognisable information about the energy consumption and performance of domestic products on a seven-point scale ranging from "A" (most efficient) to "G" (least efficient), thus enabling consumers to make a considered choice when purchasing energy consuming products. Furthermore, minimum energy performance standards have resulted in the removal of the most inefficient appliances from the market.
	Take up of the most energy efficient products has also been encouraged through the Energy Efficiency Commitment (EEC)—an obligation on energy suppliers to promote improvements in household energy efficiency. The first phase (to 2005) generated £600 million worth of investment in household energy efficiency measures. Suppliers' targets were doubled in the second phase (2005-08) and is now generating £400 million of investment in energy efficiency measures each year. The commitment has succeeded in transforming the market for wet and refrigeration appliances and led to significant increases in sales of efficient condensing boilers. The 2006 climate change programme signalled our intention to seek a further increase of 50-100 per cent. in the target for the next phase of EEC in 2008 to 2010.
	Recent revisions to building regulations have also helped drive the deployment of energy efficiency measures such as glazing, light fittings and condensing boilers, with revisions to standards in 2002 and 2006 improving energy efficiency standards by 40 per cent.
	All of the aforementioned are under constant review as we work to encourage consumers and producers to move towards more energy efficient products.

Gas Storage

Andrew Murrison: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the reserve gas storage capacity was in each year since 1997.

Malcolm Wicks: Between 1997 and 2007 Great Britain's gas storage capacity increased by around 25 per cent:
	
		
			   GWh  bcm 
			 1996-97 37,184.7 3.46 
			 1997-98 37,474.5 3.49 
			 1998-99 38,180.6 3.55 
			 1999-2000 38,152.4 3.55 
			 2000-01 39,354.7 3.66 
			 2001-02 39,644.7 3.69 
			 2002-03 39,644.7 3.69 
			 2003-04 43,720.0 4.07 
			 2004-05 43,084.3 4.01 
			 2005-06 45,594.6 4.24 
			 2006-07 46,313.6 4.31 
			  Notes: 1. GWh—Giga Watt hours; bcm = billion cubic meters. 2. The data are from National Grid's planning archives and derived from numerous sources (e.g. tendered projects and storage operators' data). Storage space can be assessed in numerous ways (energy, volume, cushion gas determination, liquefied natural gas (LNG) heel etc.), so may differ from other published data.  3. The reduction in 2004-05 was due to Isle of Grain being converted from an LNG storage facility to an LNG import facility.

Gas Storage

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the total capacity is of gas storage projects awaiting ministerial approval following a planning inquiry.

Malcolm Wicks: There are currently no applications for gas storage facilities awaiting a ministerial decision under either the Gas Act 1965 or the Town and Country Planning Act 1990. However, a public inquiry has been held into a planning application appeal for a gas storage facility with a potential capacity of 1.7bcm (billion standard cubic metres) in underground salt caverns in Fleetwood, Lancashire, and the inspector is currently writing his report. A public inquiry into a gas storage facility with a potential capacity of 212mcm (million standard cubic metres) at Caythorpe gas field, in the East Riding of Yorkshire, is due to commence on 24 April 2007.

Government Services Review

Alan Duncan: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what progress has been made towards setting up a Whitehall Group as recommended by the Government's Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Business.

Margaret Hodge: Following the Cross Cutting Review of Government Services for Small Business, the Whitehall Group of Departments and agencies—who met during the Review—were formally re-constituted in meetings of senior officials jointly chaired by the Small Business Service and HM Treasury. In the autumn of 2005 the work of the Group was refocused to concentrate solely on the business support simplification programme. The Group now meets a minimum of every six weeks and includes representatives from departments, regional development agencies, Government offices, local government, the CBI and business.

Judiciary

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what contribution his Department has made to the appointment of women to the judiciary, as referred to on page 55 of his Department's annual report; and at what cost.

Jim Fitzpatrick: The responsibility for this areas lies with the Women and Equality Unit, which transferred to the Department for Communities and Local Government under a machinery of Government reorganisation in 2006.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether he has made a decision on whether to continue funding the low carbon buildings programme beyond June 2008.

Malcolm Wicks: The low carbon buildings programme is divided into two phases. Phase 1, with a total budget of £28.5 million aims to demonstrate how energy efficiency and microgeneration technologies can be combined to create low carbon buildings. Phase 2, with a total budget of £50 million aims to drive down costs, making the market for microgeneration technologies more sustainable in the longer term.
	We announced on 25 October 2006 that we would be re-allocating £6.2 million of the total £28.5 million funding for Phase 1 to householders, giving a total household pot of £12.7 million. On projected demand levels this should allow householder funding to continue until June 2008. By this time, some of our wider measures to promote microgeneration should be taking hold, and we believe the sector may have matured to a point where householder grants are no longer necessary.
	Funding for other projects under Phase 1 is expected to continue until March 2009. The Government plan to commit funding for Phase 2 projects until March 2008.

Low Carbon Buildings Programme

Lyn Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if he will allocate additional funding to the low carbon buildings programme.

Malcolm Wicks: The low carbon buildings programme phase 1 was launched in April 2006 with a budget of £30 million available for allocation over three years. The low carbon buildings programme phase 2 was launched in December 2006 with a budget of £50 million, and we expect to commit the bulk of the funding by March 2008. There are currently no plans to allocate additional funding to the programme.

North West Regional Development

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry whether Lancaster and Morecambe Vision applied for funding from the North West Regional Development Agency in the last six months.

Margaret Hodge: Lancaster and Morecambe Vision Board has submitted through Lancaster city council an economic development strategy and investment plan that identifies the North West Development Agency as a potential funding partner. As part of that, the city council has requested pre-development funding of £95,000 for 2007-08. The agency is currently considering this request.

North West Regional Development

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how much the North West Regional Development Agency spent on  (a) staffing and  (b) administration in the 2005-06 financial year.

Margaret Hodge: I refer my hon. Friend to my answer given to Parliamentary Question No. 115140 answered today.

North West Regional Development

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the  (a) staffing and  (b) administration costs were for the North West Regional Development Agency in 2005-06; and what they are expected to be in 2006-07.

Margaret Hodge: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The staffing and administration costs for the North West Regional Development Agency in 2005-06 and expected costs for 2006-07 are detailed in the following table:
	
		
			   2005-06  2006-07 
			   Total cost (£m)  Cost as percentage of total expenditure  Total expected cost (£m)  Cost as percentage of total expenditure 
			 Total expenditure 419.50 — (1)463.08 — 
			 Staffing costs 17.83 4.25 (1)19.32 4.17 
			 Administration costs 36.09 8.60 (1)36.48 7.88 
			 (1) Estimate. 
		
	
	The total administration costs above include the staffing costs of £17.83 million and £19.32 million in 2005-06 and 2006-07 respectively.

Public Service Agreements

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry which statistics are used to determine whether his Department's Public Service Agreement (PSA) targets have been met, broken down by PSA target; and which of these are classified as national statistics.

Jim Fitzpatrick: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The Department of Trade and Industry's Public Service Agreement incorporates technical notes which contain information about the statistics used to monitor progress towards meeting the Department's PSA targets. The agreement can be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.dti.gov.uk/about/strategy-objectives/PSA-Targets/page25148.html
	A report by the independent Statistics Commission entitled 'PSA Targets: the Devil in the Detail', which was published on 20 March 2006, contains an independent analysis of each Department's PSA targets. Copies of that report are available in the Libraries of the House and can also be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.statscom.org.uk/C_467.aspx

Solar Panels

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry how many new homes have had solar panels installed during their construction in each of the last three years; and how many of these were subsidised with public funding.

Malcolm Wicks: holding answer 18 January 2007
	The Government do not hold information on the number of solar panels installed in new constructions. Under the Solar PV Major Demonstration Programme, the following installations were completed over the past three years.
	
		
			   Installed capacity (Mw) 
			 2004-05 1.36 
			 2005-06 2.54 
			 2006-07 1.97 
		
	
	Under the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, the following installations were completed over the past year.
	
		
			   Installed capacity (Mw) 
			 2006-07 0.28 
		
	
	The majority of the installed capacity has been for retrofit constructions.

Westinghouse Engineering

Helen Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what steps were taken to estimate the market value of Westinghouse Engineering before its sale in 2006; and who advised the Government on the sale.

Malcolm Wicks: BNFL's advisors N. M. Rothschild presented a detailed valuation of Westinghouse for the BNFL Board to consider at its monthly Board meeting on 26 May 2005. As part of its responsibility for the BNFL shareholding, the Shareholder Executive handled the sale on behalf of Government. The Shareholder Executive has in-house investment banking and accountancy expertise to handle transactions of this type but the team also used Deloitte for strategic investment advice and had direct access to N. M. Rothschild throughout.

CULTURE MEDIA AND SPORT

Church Music

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what resources are available for the preservation and promotion of church music; and if she will make a statement.

David Lammy: Government support for church music is primarily channelled through Arts Council England. From 2003-04 to 2005-06, Arts Council England has funded activity with a choral/gospel element or focus in excess of £1.45 million. This has supported the development, touring and promotion of choral and gospel music throughout England.
	In addition, Government funds grants for 80-85 exceptionally talented young choristers to attend independent Cathedral or Collegiate Choir Schools each year, helping to maintain Britain's renowned choral heritage. The total grant allocation for the scholarship scheme in the school year 2006-07 is £151,000. Government also provide funding of around £50,000 per year to Choir schools to fund outreach activities. On 16 January 2007, the Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced extra money to significantly extend this outreach activity at the Music Manifesto "State of Play" conference in London.
	The Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme gives grants to churches and faith groups equal to the VAT that is incurred in making repairs. While the scheme primarily supports fabric repairs, in the 2006 Budget, the scheme was extended to cover some fixtures and fittings, including organs. To date, almost £103,000 has been paid out towards organ repairs. Overall, the scheme has made grants of around £52 million since 2001.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on what dates Ministers in her Department made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Tessa Jowell: Details of visits undertaken by current DCMS Ministers in 2006 are provided in the tables. The information requested for earlier years could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	
		
			  Secretary of State 
			   Borough 
			 24 January 2006 Waltham Forest 
			 31 January 2006 Newham 
			 6 April 2006 Newham 
			 19 April 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 20 June 2006 Newham 
			 6 July 2006 Newham 
			 30 October 2006 Newham 
			 27 November 2006 Newham 
		
	
	
		
			  Minister for Sport 
			   Borough 
			 15 February 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 5 September 2006 Tower Hamlets/Newham 
		
	
	
		
			  Minister for Culture 
			   Borough 
			 3 May 2006 Tower Hamlets 
			 14 June 2006 Newham 
		
	
	The Minister for Creative Industries and Tourism did not visit any of the boroughs during 2006.

Government Art Collection

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many pieces from the Government Art Collection have been stolen in each of the last 10 years; what the value of the art stolen was; and what measures have been taken to recover them.

David Lammy: The only works of art in the Government Art Collection which have been reported stolen over the last 10 years are five paintings from the UK ambassador's temporary residence in Buenos Aires, in 2001. The estimated value of these works was £240,000. The police authorities were informed, the works were placed on the Art Loss Register, and the art market is monitored for their possible reappearance.

Libraries

Don Foster: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how many libraries closed in each borough in the Greater London area in each year since 2000.

David Lammy: This information is not held centrally, as focusing on the number of closures is less helpful as a measure of overall provision than the net number of public library service points in each year. This data, broken down by individual London borough, is published annually in the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Public Library Statistics Actuals. Copies are held in the House Library.

Olympic Games

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what  (a) public private partnerships and  (b) private finance initiatives are planned as part of the preparations for the 2012 Olympic Games.

Tessa Jowell: The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) will investigate public-private partnerships and private finance initiatives as part of individual procurements subject to the overarching constraint to deliver the games on time. This means that the ODA will seek private sector investment in utilities and other assets which have long-term investment potential.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public sector spending will be required to construct the athletes' village for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The amount of public funding will depend on the outcome of current negotiations between the Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and their private sector partners in the project. The ODA is working to minimise the amount of public funding that will be required, in the context of existing contractual arrangements and the discussions about their development partner for the project.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what her current estimate is of the security budget for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 January 2007
	It is too early at this time to provide firm figures for security costs for London 2012. Those costs are being reviewed, and we will continue to work with all relevant security organisations, including the Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Service and other agencies—together with Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary—to clarify and verify longer term issues, actions and costs, and to ensure we have a safe and secure games.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport how much public sector investment will be required to  (a) build and  (b) convert the broadcast and media centre for the London 2012 Olympics.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 16 January 2007
	The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) has advised that the exact layout and configuration of the international broadcast centre and media and press centre is still being finalised with the International Olympic Committee. It is therefore not possible to give a precise figure at this stage. The ODA has also advised that to provide figures at this point could be prejudicial to obtaining best value for money from the tendering process which will not begin until later this year.

Olympic Games

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport if she will provide a breakdown by main budget heading of the new Olympic Delivery Authority budget that she gave in evidence before the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006.

Tessa Jowell: holding answer 28 November 2006
	The new or additional elements of expenditure for the Olympic Park that make up the £900 million that I announced at the Culture, Media and Sport Committee on 21 November 2006 include provision for:
	ODA Delivery Costs (£400 million): This reflects a detailed review of the ODA administration requirements for the programme including the estimated costs of the delivery partner. The delivery partner will provide the level and quantity of experience and skill needed to deliver the Olympic Park project and to undertake effective project and programme management and cost control. The additional costs cover this, accommodation and site mobilisation and ODA staff costs.
	Construction Inflation: A 1 per cent. point per annum increase in inflation costs is required in order to reflect post-bid increases in inflation;
	Additional Security costs: reflecting the need for increased investment in site security post 7 July 2005. This does not include general policing costs which fall outside the core costs of the Olympic Park;
	Olympic Village and International Broadcasting Centre/Media and Press Centre: Some public investment will be necessary to underpin the private sector investment in these facilities but these are both subject to commercial negotiation about what the level of private sector investment will be.
	These cost increases will be reflected in the ODA's budget which is due to be determined in the next few months. They do not include VAT or programme contingency, which as I told the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee on 21 November, are a matter for discussion in Government.

Quality of Life: Coventry

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport what action her Department  (a) has undertaken and  (b) is planning to improve quality of life in Coventry, with particular reference to sporting and cultural activities.

David Lammy: holding answer 18 January 2007
	The programmes supporting sporting and cultural provision offered by my Department and its non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) are available in all towns of England, including Coventry.
	Some examples of the many actions we have undertaken or plan to improve quality of life in Coventry include:
	The UK Film Council has made a number of awards supporting film and cinema in the Coventry area, including the Cinema Access Programme Equipment award which was for the installation of captioning and audio-description equipment in Coventry odeon. This award was made as part of the UKFC's scheme to improve accessibility to cinema for people with sensory impairments.
	Screen West Midlands provides cultural support to Coventry in a number of ways, including supporting children's projects with the 'Little Herberts' at the Herbert gallery, animation projects with BBC Coventry and 'Sent to Coventry' a project designed to develop and showcase new talent on the Community Channel. Screen West Midlands has also used its funding to encourage diversity in film, through 'Screen Rootz' a film-making project targeting black and Asian ethnicities.
	English Heritage has given significant support to several schemes within Coventry in recent years. Grants totalling £300,000 have been offered to historic buildings in Coventry since 2000 including the two cathedrals. English Heritage worked in partnership with Coventry city council and the developers in the Millennium square development, the focal point of the Phoenix project, to create this new open space in the centre of the city.
	The Listed Places of Worship grant scheme, which returns the equivalent of the VAT incurred in repairing listed church buildings, has contributed £3,964 to works at Coventry cathedral, and £60,133 to Holy Trinity church.
	The Heritage Lottery Fund has made awards totalling £11,221,240 to Coventry since 1994. These include grants totalling £4,787,000, awarded to Coventry city council for the ongoing redevelopment of the Herbert Art gallery and museum and a further £999,000 which has helped to regenerate the Coventry Transport museum as part of the city's wider Phoenix Initiative.
	Coventry South parliamentary constituency has received 457 awards from the national lottery since 1 May 1997, totalling £49 million.
	Sport England awarded over £93,000 to the Coventry sports centre in November 2005.
	Big Lottery Fund awarded over £1,400 to the Coventry Carer's Society in December 2006.
	We are committed to the potential benefits of the 2012 Olympic games and Paralympic games being maximised across the whole of the UK, and are working closely with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) and the Nations and Regions Group, which brings together representatives from every nation and region. Coventry and Warwickshire have also set up their own 2012 Management Group, to pursue 2012 opportunities for the county.
	Coventry will host the UK Schools games in 2007.

SCOTLAND

Government Regulation

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland when he next expects to meet representatives of business organisations in Scotland to discuss the impact of central Government regulation.

David Cairns: I frequently meet representatives from business organisations in Scotland to discuss a range of matters, including regulatory issues.

New Homes: Carbon Footprint

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what discussions he has had with the First Minister on ensuring all new homes built in Scotland by 2017 have a zero carbon footprint.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with the First Minister on a range of issues. Since 1997, this Government have introduced a wide range of measures designed to encourage household energy efficiency, with the pre-Budget report announcing the ambition for all new homes to be zero carbon within a decade. Overall, the energy efficiency of housing in Scotland is a devolved matter.

Act of Union

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland how the 300(th) anniversary of the Act of Union will be marked in Scotland.

Douglas Alexander: The Scottish Executive is supporting a range of events to commemorate the anniversary of the Act of Union. They include book launches and debates by the National Library of Scotland, an exhibition in the Scottish Parliament, a display of portraits and new video work by the National Galleries of Scotland and a schools competition about the impact of the Union.

Shipbuilding

Ian Davidson: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent meetings he has held with trade unions to discuss the Scottish shipbuilding industry.

Douglas Alexander: I meet the Scottish Trades Union Congress on a regular basis to discuss a range of issues.

Economic Activity

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what his latest assessment is of levels of economic activity in Scotland.

David Cairns: Scotland continues to benefit from the macroeconomic stability delivered by the Government. Employment and economic activity in the Scottish labour market are at their highest position on record, and Scottish economic growth in 2006—at 2.2 per cent.—was above the long-term trend and equal to that of the UK.

Medical Research Council Centres

Ann McKechin: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will make a statement on the future of Medical Research Council centres in Scotland following the review by Sir David Cooksey.

David Cairns: The position on funding from the Medical Research Council (MRC) will remain the same. Centres in Scotland, as is the case for any part of the United Kingdom, which are currently eligible for funding from MRC will continue to be eligible.

Television Services

Alan Reid: To ask the Secretary of State for Scotland what recent discussions he has held with ministerial colleagues on television services in Scotland.

David Cairns: My right hon. Friend has regular discussions with colleagues on a range of issues affecting Scotland.

INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Global Environmental Facility

Mark Simmonds: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what funding and assistance his Department has provided to the least developed countries for writing their National Adaptation Plans of Action for the Global Environmental Facility.

Gareth Thomas: The preparation of National Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPA) has been funded by the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) since 2002. DFID contributed £3.5 million in 2006-07 to the LDCF to help with the completion, modification and implementation of NAPAs. DFID will provide a further £6.5 million over the next two financial years. DFID is the largest contributor to the LDCF. In addition to financial support, the UK was a member of the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) between 2003 and 2005. The LEG provides advice to least developed countries on the development of NAPAs.

Sri Lanka

Andrew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what assistance his Department is providing to civilians affected by the conflict in Sri Lanka.

Gareth Thomas: In September 2006 DFID donated US $1 million to assist those affected and displaced by the conflict in Sri Lanka, in response to appeals from the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. The UN has now issued a Common Humanitarian Action Plan and requested a further $66 million from the donor community. DFID is considering how to respond to this latest appeal.

CONSTITUTIONAL AFFAIRS

Freedom of Information

John Hayes: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cost to the Government has been of defending refusals to provide information in response to Freedom of Information requests.

Vera Baird: The information requested is not held. However, my Department published the report of the Independent Review of the Impact of the Freedom of Information Act conducted by economic consultancy firm Frontier Economics. The report contains a comprehensive assessment of the component costs of the operation of the Freedom of Information Act. The report was published on 16 October 2006. It can be found on the DCA's website and copies are available in the Libraries of the House.

Libra Project

John Spellar: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs pursuant to her answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1769W, on the Libra project, how many magistrates courts remain to be equipped; and at what rate courts are being equipped.

Vera Baird: The Libra project has already delivered modern computers to all 369 magistrates courts, providing them with up-to-date tools, including e-mail. This was completed in 2003.
	The current project is now focusing on delivery of a national case management system. This is now in place in 12 courts, and implementation is planned at a further 11 courts in January and February 2007. Decisions about roll out to the remaining courts will be taken in the light of the experience from these implementations.

Mental Health

Keith Vaz: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many legal aid practices specialising in mental health law there were in each year since 1997.

Vera Baird: Figures are not available for 1997-2000. From 2000 the Legal Services Commission introduced contracting with quality-assured solicitors and not-for-profit organisations to provide advice and assistance to clients in certain categories of law, including mental health. The number of specialist contracts held by legal aid practices in the mental health category at 31 March each year is as follows:
	
		
			   Number 
			 2001 355 
			 2002 352 
			 2003 355 
			 2004 317 
			 2005 309 
			 2006 283 
		
	
	While the number of contracts has fallen since 2001, the number of acts of assistance in this category have risen from 23,706 in 2000-01 to 34,292 in 2005-06.

Mental Health

Lynne Jones: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what measures she is taking to promote actively the employment within  (a) her Department and  (b) public sector bodies for whom she has responsibility of people with mental illnesses in line with the advice and codes of practice produced by the Disability Rights Commission.

Vera Baird: Under the Disability Equality Duty introduced by the Disability Discrimination Act 2005, my Department and the public sector bodies for which I am responsible are required to publish and implement Disability Equality Schemes. These are plans setting out how we will carry out the Disability Equality Duty, monitor, and report on progress. In particular this includes our arrangements for gathering information on the effect of our policies and practices on the recruitment, development and retention of our disabled employees, including those with mental health conditions, and making use of that information.
	The following arrangements are set out in my Department's disability equality scheme to support disabled employees including those with mental health conditions. As a member of the 'Employers Forum on Disability', we welcome applications from disabled job applicants, and we are an authorised user of the Job Centre Plus Disability Symbol. As part of our symbol commitments, we guarantee to interview all candidates with a disability who choose to apply under the scheme and satisfy the minimum criteria for both externally and internally advertised posts. Advertisements are placed as widely as possible, using diverse media to capture applicants from under-represented groups. In addition, my Department's commitment to supporting the Workstep programme and the New Deal initiative (key elements of the Government's strategy on welfare to work) encourages managers to take on disabled people, thus increasing their employability. My Department's disability network provides a voice for disabled employees to the development of new employment policies and practices that promote equality of opportunity. We have in place local disability advisers who help and advise managers and disabled job applicants/employees in making reasonable adjustments under the employment provisions of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995.
	The public sector bodies sponsored by my Department that are subject to these requirements are responsible for publishing and implementing their own disability equality schemes.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs how many parliamentary questions were tabled to her Department in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specific date.

Vera Baird: In 2006, the Department for Constitutional Affairs answered  (a) 1,539 ordinary written questions and  (b) 314 named day questions. Approximately 83 per cent. of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days and 70 per cent. of named day questions were answered by the specific date.

Public Appointments

Greg Pope: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what experience and qualifications are required for candidates for appointment as  (a) parliamentary boundary commissioners for England and  (b) local government boundary commissioners for England.

Bridget Prentice: In respect of Parliamentary Boundary Commissioners for England, statute requires only that the Chairman be the Speaker of the House of Commons and that the Deputy Chairman be a High Court judge. Other than this, there are no specific qualifications or experience required for appointment to the Boundary Commission for England. In practice, the nature of the role makes it highly desirable for applicants for appointment to provide evidence of an ability to: understand and apply legislation; give objective consideration to sometimes lengthy representations, many of which will express conflicting views; and deliver recommendations supported by sound reasoning. There are a range of experiences that might help individuals to develop such abilities. Appointment of local government boundary commissioners in England is a matter for the Electoral Commission.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in her Department and its executive agencies; and if she will make a statement.

Harriet Harman: The current total cash equivalent transfer value for the 10 highest paid DCA staff (for whom current Civil Service pensions details are available to the Department) is £3,650,854. Six of these individuals are named in the annual report and resources accounts and cash equivalent transfer value of their public sector pensions is therefore reported annually. The information is already in the public domain.

Review of Electoral Systems

Richard Burden: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Constitutional Affairs what input from outside her Department is being sought to ensure the factual accuracy of the Review of Electoral Systems; and which  (a) organisations and  (b) individuals (i) have been and (ii) will be approached to assist in this process.

Bridget Prentice: In order to ensure factual accuracy, officials in my Department have circulated draft sections of the Review of Voting Systems to officials at the:
	Wales Office;
	Northern Ireland Office;
	Scotland Office;
	Cabinet Office;
	Foreign and Commonwealth Office; and the
	Government Office for London.
	A draft of the review was also shown to Professor Robert Hazell, an academic at the Constitution Unit of University College London. It is not envisaged that any further input will be sought.

CHURCH COMMISSIONERS

Recruitment Agencies

Grant Shapps: To ask the hon. Member for Middlesbrough, representing the Church Commissioners how much the Commissioners paid to recruitment agencies for the hire of temporary staff in each year since 1997; and if he will make a statement.

Stuart Bell: The Church Commissioners' expenditure on temporary staff between 1997 and 2006 was as follows:
	
		
			   £ 
			 1997 25,000 
			 1998 32,500 
			 1999 29,500 
			 2000 25,000 
			 2001 8,000 
			 2002 11,000 
			 2003 3,000 
			 2004 64,500 
			 2005 163,000 
			 2006 82,500 
		
	
	By way of a statement, and to put these figures into context, I should tell the hon. Gentleman that, as a result of keeping working practices under review and investment in training and new technology, overall staff numbers have reduced from 257 at the end of 1997 to 84 at the end of 2006.

DEFENCE

Defence Exports

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the percentage of total employment accounted for by defence export sales;
	(2)  if he will publish a paper on the economic costs and benefits of UK defence exports.

Adam Ingram: Information on UK employment dependent on MOD expenditure and defence exports was published in UK Defence Statistics 2006. Table 1.9 shows that in 2004-05, the most recent year given, 65,000 jobs in the UK were supported by defence exports, 21 per cent. of the total dependent on UK defence expenditure and defence exports.
	The Defence Industrial Strategy, which explained the benefits to defence objectives from defence exports, referred to a study by a group of independent and MOD economists entitled "The Economic Costs and Benefits of UK Defence Exports", published by the University of York. We have no plans to undertake further work on this subject.

Defence Industry Employment

Gordon Banks: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  how many people are employed in the defence industry in England and Wales;
	(2)  how many people are employed in the defence industry in Scotland.

Adam Ingram: The latest available estimate for those people employed directly in industry and commerce in England and Wales in those companies that receive contracts directly from MOD is approximately 126,000 full-time equivalent jobs and approximately 9,000 for Scotland.
	It is not possible to prepare estimates for indirect employment in the supply chain other than for the UK as a whole due to quality of the underlying administrative data.
	Aggregate estimates for the UK detailing direct and indirect employment which separate those involved with employment on MOD equipment, MOD non-equipment, and defence exports are produced by the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) in Table 1.9, "UK Defence Statistics 2006"; a copy of which is available in the Library of the House.

Defence Training Review

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what price premium for the Defence Training Review his Department expects to pay in return for transferring risk to the private sector.

Derek Twigg: The concept of PFI passes risk to a private sector partner who is better able to manage these risks. The primary determinant of whether to proceed with a PFI approach is the assessment of the value for money of the bidder's proposal against a public sector comparator on a whole life, risk adjusted basis. MOD relies on open competition to drive out value for money and ensure that any price premium paid is appropriate for the risk transferred.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Des Browne: I refer the hon. Member to the answer my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister gave on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1808W to the hon. Member for Blaby (Mr. Robathan) and the answer my hon. Friend the Member for West Bromwich, East (Mr. Watson) gave on 19 June 2006,  Official Report, column 1581W, to the hon. Member for Shipley (Philip Davies).

Housing

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to apply the Decent Homes Standard of fitness policy applicable to social housing to service accommodation; and if he will make a statement.

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to apply the Decent Homes Standard of fitness policy applicable to social housing to family houses for service personnel in Colchester constituency.

Derek Twigg: The Ministry of Defence has its own well defined criteria for assessing the condition of its properties. This consists of a list of over 100 individual attributes that are assessed to arrive at an overall Standard for Condition (SFC) score for the property. SFC scores are banded into categories 1 to 4 from the best condition to the worst. SFC assessment includes aspects such as the structure of the property, its energy efficiency, health and safety features, security arrangements and sanitary items as well as an assessment of the kitchen and bedrooms.
	We are confident that the current SFC system used by MOD fully takes into account the four basic tenets of the Decent Homes Standard. In short, these are to be fit for habitation by meeting statutory housing regulations, to be in a reasonable state of repair, to have reasonably modern facilities and to have a reasonable degree of thermal comfort. Rather than simply conforming to a minimum acceptable level of accommodation, MOD aspires to provide accommodation to a higher standard; and this is reflected in the criteria that must be met to achieve standard 1 for condition.
	It is for these reasons that it is not the intention to use the less demanding Decent Homes Standard and to continue to use a more stringent set of criteria, endeavouring to meet the high standards that service personnel deserve.

Housing

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what plans he has to modernise the family housing for service personnel based in Colchester constituency in each of the next three years;
	(2)  how many family houses for service personnel were available in Colchester constituency in  (a) 1997,  (b) 2001 and  (c) 2005;
	(3)  what plans he has to increase the number of family houses for service personnel in Colchester constituency in each of the next three years.

Derek Twigg: The information requested will take a little time to collate. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Meat Supplies

John Spellar: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of the meat supplied to British troops under the food supply contract which commenced on 1 October 2006 is from British farms.

Adam Ingram: Since the beginning of the current contract, 44 per cent. of the meat (which does not include poultry, gammon and bacon products) supplied to the British armed forces has been bought from British farms.

Nuclear Submarines

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence whether the submarine supply chain could be maintained for the construction of future ship submersible nuclear submarines in the absence of a positive decision on a Vanguard successor; and if he will make a statement.

Adam Ingram: As noted by the Select Committee on Defence in its recent report "The Future of the UK's Strategic Nuclear Deterrent: the Manufacturing and Skills Base", submarine build rates will need to be maintained in order to sustain the industrial skills base.

Parliamentary Questions

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he will answer Question 101443, on the naval bases review, tabled by the hon. Member for Portsmouth, South on 20 November 2006.

Adam Ingram: I replied to the hon. Member on 18 January 2007,  Official Report, column 1264W.

Procurement

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what percentage of his Department's spending was allocated to procurement in each of the last 10 years; what the original budget allocation on procurement was in each of those years; and what outturn was in each year.

Adam Ingram: For equipment procurement expenditure for financial years up to and including 2000-01, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 12 February 2003,  Official Report, column 738W.
	There are no directly comparable figures for subsequent years, reflecting the introduction of resource accounting and budgeting in 2001-02 which changed the way in which expenditure is accounted for and recorded. Publication of equipment procurement figures in UK Defence Statistics was discontinued after 2000-01.
	The figures in the following table show the Defence Procurement Agency (DPA) financial resourcing adjusted for depreciation and certain nuclear items over the past five years and the proportion this represents of the entire MOD expenditure.
	The budgetary information provided is drawn from the main supply estimates. These are an early estimate of requirements and as such are subject to amendment as final resource allocations are adjusted to meet in-year departmental needs. Budgetary allocations for the DPA are not readily available for financial years earlier than 2001-02 and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The DPA budget/outturn figures relate to the procurement of new equipment and associated overheads, excluding depreciation and provisions.
	All the figures are in resource accounting terms.
	
		
			  Financial year  DPA budget allocation  (£ billion)  DPA outturn  (£ billion)  Percentage of MOD Budget 
			 2001-02(1) 6.1 5.6 26 
			 2002-03(1) 5.6 6.2 23 
			 2003-04 6.9 6.7 24 
			 2004-05 7.0 6.8 23 
			 2005-06 8.1 7.4 26 
			 (1) 2001-02 and 2002-03 budget and outturn figures exclude non-cash items in line with accounting policy at that time.

Scottish Regiments

Angus Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the  (a) recruitment targets and  (b) achieved recruitment were for (i) The Royal Scots Battalion, (ii) King's Own Scottish Borders Battalion, (iii) The Royal Highland Fusiliers, (iv) The Black Watch, (v) The Highlanders and (vi) The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders in each month since January 2006; and if he will make a statement.

Derek Twigg: The Army does not set recruitment targets for individual battalions but does have whole infantry targets. I refer to my answer given on 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 712W, to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire (Pete Wishart), which gave details of achievement against targets for the infantry between 1999-2001 and 2005-06.
	In my answer of 8 January 2007,  Official Report, column 104W, to the hon. Member for Woodspring (Dr. Fox), I provided the number of recruits that were loaded to the Scottish Division each month between December 2005 and November 2006. The number loaded in December 2006 was nil.

Separation Allowance

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence 
	(1)  what the financial payment would be to a soldier serving 600 days in a two-year period under  (a) existing longer separated service allowance rates and  (b) new longer separation allowance rates;
	(2)  what the financial impact on an individual soldier will be of scrapping  (a) the Longer Service Separation Allowance (AT) and  (b) (AT+) bonuses.

Des Browne: For the Army, longer service separation allowance (LSSA) and the associated bonuses are scheduled to be replaced by the longer separation allowance (LSA) on 1 April 2007. The Royal Navy and Royal Air Force have already transferred to LSA as part of an ongoing roll-out of a new tri-service allowance package. The new operational bonus has nothing to do with this reform of existing allowances. There is therefore no question of 'giving with one hand and taking away with the other'. The new bonus is coming out of entirely new money—over £60 million this year. The reform of existing allowances, decided three years ago and endorsed by the independent armed forces pay review body, was not about 'cuts'—it was about making the system fairer—all the money stays in armed forces allowances and benefits. So overall our soldiers, sailors and airmen are now over £60 million better off.
	LSA is a fairer system and has a number of advantages over the LSSA and AT/AT+ bonus system it replaces. For example, LSA is less divisive and removes the unfairness of soldiers on the same deployment either just qualifying for or missing out on the accumulated turbulence (AT) and/or accumulated turbulence plus (AT+) bonuses. From 1 April 2007 LSA will also be payable immediately, with no initial qualifying period, as opposed to 12 months service under LSSA. This benefits soldiers (and sailors, airmen and airwomen) who deploy on an operational tour in their first year of service who, by the end of a six month tour, would have received 180 days extra payment (£1,080, before tax, at £6.02 per day; LSA Level 1 and LSSA Basic Rate are both £6.02 per day) and accrued more days of qualifying service so that they would qualify for the next level of payment earlier than they would have done under LSSA. Under both LSSA and LSA a soldier moves to the next rate after each 300 days qualifying service. More significantly, there are 14 rates of LSA rather than the three of LSSA, with a top rate of £25.42 as opposed to £12.82.
	The financial impact on an individual soldier of removing the accumulated turbulence (AT) and accumulated turbulence plus (AT+) bonuses is dependent upon how long they have been serving, how many days qualifying separation they have accrued and where they are in the rolling two window that is used to calculate the AT bonus calculation. AT bonus is paid after 280 days qualifying separation in a rolling period and AT+ after a total of 365 days qualifying separation in a rolling two-year period. The AT and AT+ bonus are both worth £1,350 before tax. The vast majority of soldiers did not qualify for the bonuses on a normal deployment pattern. For example, only 1 per cent. of the Army qualified for the AT+ bonus in 2005. The number of soldiers serving 600 days in a two-year period is very infrequent and estimated to be no more than a handful.
	In these rare cases the net change of the move to the new system depends on length of service. Under the LSA rules a soldier who accrues considerable QS during the course of a career enjoys significant financial benefit compared with LSSA. This is demonstrated by the following example cases:
	Junior soldier serving 600 days separated service in a two year period, initial six-month tour within first 12 months service.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA( 1)  
			 Initial 180 days  
			 300 days @ £6.02 (Basic rate) 1,806 
			 120 days @ £9.41 (Mid rate) 1,129 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus 1,350 
			 Total 5,635 
			   
			  New: LSA( 2)  
			 300 days @ £6.02 (LSA Level 1) 1,806 
			 300 days @ £9.41 (LSA Level 2) 2,823 
			 Total 4,629 
			 (1)12 months qualifying period (2) with no initial qualifying period 
		
	
	Senior soldier serving 600 days separated service in a two year period, having undertaken seven years of separation.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA  
			 600 days @ 12.82 (Top rate) 7,692 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus 1,350 
			 Total 10,392 
			   
			  New: LSA  
			 300 days @ 18.93 (LSA Level 8) 5,679 
			 300 days @ 20.01 (LSA Level 9) 6,003 
			 Total 11,682 
		
	
	Under a more realistic 300 days separated service over a two-year period the same comparisons are:
	Junior soldier serving 300 days separated service in a two year period, initial six-month tour within first 12 months service.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old LSSA( 1)  
			 Initial 180 days 0 
			 120 days @ £6.02 (Basic rate) 722 
			 AT Bonus(2) 0 
			 AT+ Bonus(2) 0 
			 Total 722 
			   
			  New: LSA( 3)  
			 300 days @ £602 (LSA Level) 1,806 
			 300 days @ £.41 (LSA (Level 2) 2,823 
			 Total 4,629 
			 (1)12 months qualifying period (2) would not qualify for either bonus as the junior soldier would not have completed 300 days qualifying separated service, despite clocking up 300 days actual separated service over a 2 year period. (3 )with no initial qualifying period 
		
	
	Senior soldier serving 300 days separated service in a two year period, having undertaken seven years of separation.
	
		
			  £ 
			  Old: LSSA  
			 300 days @ £12.82 (Top rate) 3,846 
			 AT Bonus 1,350 
			 AT+ Bonus(1) 0 
			 Total 5,196 
			   
			  New LSA  
			 300 days @ £18.93 (LSA Level 8) 5,679 
			 Total 5,679 
			 (1) would not qualify for AT+ plus bonus as would not have completed 365 days qualifying separated service over a two year period

Service Personnel: South African Citizens

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many South African citizens are serving in each of the services.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 17 January 2007
	The most recently available data for the number of South Africans serving in each of the services are shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of South Africans 
			 Naval service 60 
			 Army 790 
			 RAF 10 
			  Notes:  1. Naval service data are at 6 October 2006. 2. Army data are at 1 November 2006. 3. RAF data are at 6 March 2006. 4. Figures do not include UK/South African dual nationals. 5. Figures are for UK regular forces and therefore include nursing services and exclude full-time reserve service personnel, Ghurkhas, the home service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment and mobilised reservists. They include trained and untrained personnel.

UK Nuclear Weapons Capability

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will undertake road shows to enable consultation with the public on the Government's views on nuclear weapons with the public.

Des Browne: The Government have published a White Paper setting out the decisions we have taken, and the arguments for doing so. Over the coming months we are committed to supporting an informed debate in public and Parliament on these decisions—including by the Defence Select Committee. All of us have the opportunity to evaluate the various contributions to this debate before Parliament considers and votes on this in the spring. At present, there are no plans to undertake road shows.

UK Troops: Rest Periods

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the average period of rest between operational tours for UK troops has been in each of the last five years.

Adam Ingram: The Army defines the average period between operational tours as the Tour Interval. Tour intervals will include periods of leave or rest, along with periods of training for individuals' career development as well as pre-deployment training. The average Tour Interval for UK troops over the past two years is shown in the table shown:
	
		
			  Arm/Service  Average annual tour interval January-December 2005  Average annual tour interval January-December 2006 
			 Infantry 18.59 20.28 
			 Royal Armoured Corps 21.9 25.34 
			 Royal Artillery 21.82 21.38 
			 Royal Engineers 28.97 22.51 
		
	
	Data for the three years prior to January 2005 could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Warships

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many warships were based at  (a) Devonport,  (b) Portsmouth and  (c) Faslane in each year since 1997.

Adam Ingram: holding answer 11 January 2007
	The numbers of warships, not including submarines and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels, based at Devonport, Portsmouth and Faslane each year since 1997 are as follows:
	
		
			   Devonport  Portsmouth  Faslane 
			 1997 23 42 11 
			 1998 27 41 11 
			 1999 27 42 11 
			 2000 24 42 13 
			 2001 24 41 14 
			 2002 22 43 15 
			 2003 22 39 13 
			 2004 21 40 13 
			 2005 21 36 12 
			 2006 21 32 9 
			 2007 20 31 8

ENVIRONMENT FOOD AND RURAL AFFAIRS

Background Radiation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what the average levels of background radiation in each region were in  (a) September,  (b) October,  (c) November and  (d) December 2006.

Ian Pearson: Average levels of background gamma radiation, as measured by the Radioactive Incident Monitoring Network (RIMNET), are shown in the following table.
	
		
			  MicroGrays per hour 
			  Region  September 2006  October 2006  November 2006  December 2006 
			 Anglia 0.10 0.10 0.11 0.11 
			 Midlands 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.10 
			 N. E. England 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. W. England 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 
			 S. E. England 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10 
			 S. W. England 0.12 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. Scotland 0.12 0.12 0.11 0.11 
			 S. Scotland 0.11 0.11 0.10 0.10 
			 Wales 0.11 0.11 0.11 0.11 
			 N. Ireland 0.10 0.10 0.10 0.10

Birds and Habitats Directives

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to his answer of 6 November 2006,  Official Report, column 697W, on Birds and Habitats Directives, when he expects the Akrotiri Peninsula and Episkopi Cliffs Important Bird Area to be designated under British Sovereign Base Area law as a special protection zone; and if he will ensure that proposed developments within the Akrotiri Peninsula and Episkopi Cliffs Important Bird Area will be subject to an assessment of the standard required for candidate special protection areas under the EC Birds Directive.

Barry Gardiner: The Department expects that any designation of areas within the Akrotiri Peninsula (including the Episkopi Cliffs) as special protection zones, will be made by the end of 2009. This would follow the completion of the necessary designation process, including the collection and verification of all relevant data and consultation with stakeholders.
	Any proposed building development within these areas already needs to comply with the relevant British sovereign base areas (SBA) legislation on the protection and management of wild birds and would require an appropriate assessment. Under EC law, the appropriate assessment would need to take into account any potential adverse environmental impacts, including the effects on protected species. The SBA would also need to work closely with the Cyprus authorities to develop the appropriate assessment.

Carbon Dioxide

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate he has made of the amount of carbon dioxide put into the atmosphere each day; and what proportion is from human sources.

Ian Pearson: The UK is required by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to compile an annual national inventory of all greenhouse gases emissions, including carbon dioxide. The UK Emissions Inventory is compiled by the National Environmental Technology Centre (Netcen) on behalf of DEFRA, in accordance with the 'Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Reporting Guidelines and Good Practice Guidance'.
	In 2004, the UK emitted approximately 1.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide per day (MtCO2/day).
	Globally, around 25 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide (GtCO2) are emitted each year. The amount of carbon dioxide emitted from human sources is small in comparison to the size of natural flows: at around 3 per cent. emitted from the land and oceans to the atmosphere.
	Each year almost 800 GtCO2 are exchanged between the land and oceans and the atmosphere due to natural processes including, for example, respiration and photosynthesis by plants.
	The key point in terms of climate change, is that the additional emissions from human sources creates an imbalance between total emissions and the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed naturally each year. This leads to an accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Departmental Expenditure

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs how much his Department spent on  (a) flood management and  (b) building flood defences in each year since 1990; what forecasts he has made of annual expenditure on (i) flood management and (ii) flood defences over the next 20 years; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson: DEFRA has overall policy responsibility for flood risk management in England, funds most of the Environment Agency (EA)'s flood related work and grant aids individual capital improvement projects undertaken by local authorities (LAs) and internal drainage boards (IDBs). The programme to manage risk is driven by these operating authorities. DEFRA does not carry out works, nor direct the authorities on which specific projects to undertake. DEFRA expenditure from 1995-96 to 2005-06 and current estimates for 2006-07 to 2007-08 are shown in the following table.
	Columns (c) and (d) in the table show funding support from DEFRA to the operating authorities for flood risk improvement projects, including for flood warning, and related studies. Column (e) shows DEFRA grant used by EA for other activities (maintenance of existing defences, public awareness, flood risk mapping, advising on development proposals etc).
	
		
			  £ million 
			   (b) Building flood defences, including flood warning   (a) Flood management, i.e. total of (c), (d) and (e) 
			   (c) EA  (d) LAs and IDBs  (e) EA (other activities)  
			 1995-96 45.3 4.0 — 49.3 
			 1996-97 45.8 3.5 0.1 49.4 
			 1997-98 43.0 4.9 — 47.9 
			 1998-99 33.5 3.3 0.3 37.1 
			 1999-2000 31.8 3.5 1.2 36.5 
			 2000-01 29.3 4.3 12.5 46.1 
			 2001-02 46.0 6.5 11.5 64.0 
			 2002-03 68.3 13.7 5.0 87.0 
			 2003-04 71.1 8.6 5.0 84.7 
			 2004-05 124.0 9.2 234.6 367.8 
			 2005-06 197.5 13.5 229.4 440.4 
			 2006-07(1) 190.0 15.7 223.0 428.7 
			 2007-08(1) 189.0 21.2 246.7 456.9 
			 (1 )Current estimates 
		
	
	Before 2004-05, the flood risk management function of the EA was funded primarily through a combination of grants from DEFRA for specific projects and levies on local authorities. The latter, which were largely supported by revenue support grant from the former Office of the Deputy Prime Minister, are not included in the table. Both forms of funding were largely replaced by grant in aid from DEFRA from 2004-05 onwards. The EA decides how best to use grant in aid to achieve outcomes agreed with Government.
	The table excludes revenue spend by LAs supported by the Department for Communities and Local Government. This covers local authority own spend and their levies to the EA and IDBs. The table excludes expenditure on capital projects for coast protection. These often also provide significant benefit in terms of reducing risk of flooding from the sea but it would not be possible to identify the proportion resulting in flood risk benefit without incurring disproportionate cost.
	I regret figures prior to 1995-96 are no longer available. Funding after 2007-08 is being considered in the 2007 comprehensive spending review.

EC Council Regulation 1/2005

Tony Baldry: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what guidance he has issued on the status of hobby breeders who do not breed in connection with an economic activity under EC Council Regulation 1/2005;
	(2)  what guidance he has issued to dog show exhibitors who do not transport animals in connection with an economic activity on their status under EC Council Regulation 1/2005.

Ben Bradshaw: EC Council Regulation 1/2005 does not apply to the transport of animals where the transport is not in connection with an economic activity. My Department has issued guidance on the regulation which is available on the DEFRA website at:
	http://www.defra.gov.uk/animalh/welfare/farmed/transport/eu-transportreg.htm
	That guidance makes clear our view that the regulation does not apply to the transportation of animals as a hobby where the income source does not exceed the expenses of the hobby and the primary purpose is for pleasure or competition and not as part of a business.

Environmental Liability Directive

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs whether strict liability for damage to biodiversity, land or water arising from the continued use of GM plants and animals is included in the Government's proposals for implementing the Environmental Liability Directive.

Ian Pearson: The directive provides for two types of liability. Liability for environmental damage from certain categories of occupational activity is implicitly 'strict'. All other activities are expressly subject to fault-based liability. Categories of activity for which liability is implicitly 'strict' include two relating to genetically modified organisms and micro-organisms, and are defined in annex III of the Environmental Liability Directive as:
	i. "Any contained use, including transport, involving genetically modified micro-organisms as defined by Council Directive 90/219/EEC of 23 April 1990 on the contained use of genetically modified micro-organisms."
	ii. "Any deliberate release into the environment, transport and placing on the market of genetically modified organisms as defined by Directive 2001/18/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council."
	However, this requirement for liability to be 'strict' can be qualified in certain circumstances. For example, the directive provides that member states may allow the operator not to bear the costs of remedial action where he was not at fault or negligent in circumstances where the damage was caused by an emission or event authorised by a permit. The Government's provisional preference in relation to the exercise of this discretion is set out in the consultation document, available from the DEFRA website at http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/env-liability/index.htm

Nuclear Waste

Ian Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what research he has assessed on the use of ceramics for the containment of nuclear waste; and what the conclusions were of  (a) the research and  (b) his assessment.

Ian Pearson: No research in this area has been undertaken by the Department.
	The Nuclear Decommissioning Authority has recently funded some work on immobilising plutonium residues in various materials, including ceramics. They will continue to review their forward research programmes in the light of the continuing international debate in this area.

Rain Forests

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what discussions he has had with developed and developing countries on the proposal for greater use proposed for carbon offsets through protection of the rain forests.

Ian Pearson: Emissions from deforestation in developing countries are currently not covered by the Kyoto protocol because of concerns that forestry protection projects would displace the deforestation elsewhere, with little or no net gain. Discussions are under way on how emissions from deforestation may be treated for future commitment periods. There are a number of proposals under discussion that would provide incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation below 'national' (rather than project specific) baselines. Achievement relative to a national baseline would take account of any displacement of deforestation within a country. One issue is whether incentivised activities should give rise to formal offsets.
	We are working actively with the EU and other international negotiating partners towards securing a substantive outcome on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries under the UN Climate negotiations in Bali in December 2007.

Rats

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what assessment he has made of the trend in the rat population in England.

Ben Bradshaw: The most recent report by the Central Science Laboratory, 'Rodent infestations in domestic properties in England 2001', was published in July 2005. The report was compiled from data collected during the 2001 English House Condition Survey (EHCS) and included comparisons with data for 1996. The report concluded that the rates for both mice and rats inside dwellings were similar for 1996 and 2001 but the rate for rats outside dwellings was higher for 2001 than for 1996. A copy of this report has been placed in the library of the House.
	A short report on temporal trends based on data from the EHCS for 2002-03 and 2003-04 will be available this summer.

Rats

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what measures he is taking to address the rat population.

Ben Bradshaw: I refer the hon. Member to the reply given to the hon. Member for Eastleigh (Chris Huhne) on 16 January 2007,  Official Report, column 979W.

FOREIGN AND COMMONWEALTH AFFAIRS

1 Carlton Gardens

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the cost to public funds of the telephone use of the former Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs was from his official ministerial residence in 1 Carlton Gardens in  (a) 2004-05 and  (b) 2005-06.

Geoff Hoon: My right hon. Friend the former Foreign Secretary did not use 1 Carlton Gardens as his official ministerial residence in these years and would not have incurred any telephone charges in that respect.

Bangladesh

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to Fazul Haque on the conduct of elections in Bangladesh.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary made no representations to Fazul Haque during his short tenure as the acting chief adviser of the caretaker government in Bangladesh.
	I refer the hon. Member to the answer that I gave my hon. Friend the Member for West Ham (Lyn Brown) on 22 January,  Official Report, columns 1448-49W, which outlines the policy of the UK on the political situation in Bangladesh and highlights the statement of my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary, and activities of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and our High Commission in Dhaka.

Bangladesh

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what discussions she has had with the British High Commission, Dhaka on the postponement of elections in Bangladesh.

Kim Howells: We closely monitor political developments in Bangladesh. Foreign and Commonwealth Office officials in London and at our high commission in Dhaka are in daily contact.

Burma

John Bercow: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what action the UK Government have taken to prevent the transfer of British-made military equipment parts to the Burmese regime.

Kim Howells: There has been an EU arms embargo in place on arms exports to Burma since 2004, including a ban on the supply of equipment that might be used for internal repression. In addition to this we encourage all international partners not to sell arms to Burma and to observe responsible arms trade policies to any country whose activities may be a cause for concern.
	All UK export licence applications are assessed against the Consolidated EU and National Export Licensing Criteria on a case by case basis and will not be approved if the export contravenes the criteria or international commitments, including the EU embargo on Burma.

Colombia

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to prevent the import of cocaine into the UK from Colombia.

Kim Howells: Preventing the importation of cocaine into the UK from Colombia is a top priority for the UK's international counter-narcotics efforts. The UK works closely with the Colombian authorities to disrupt trafficking and to interdict consignments of illicit drugs.
	We have supported the Colombian Government's shared responsibility initiative, which was launched in London in November 2006. The initiative aims to convey to European consumers, the impact of drug consumption on the producing country.
	The UK does not work with Colombia in isolation. We take a broad regional approach to tackling the trade in illicit drugs, through a mixture of political engagement, capacity building and law enforcement support in producer, transit and consumer countries. This includes working with governments of other producer and transit countries in Latin America, as well as with governments in countries along the main trafficking routes for drugs from Latin America (especially through the Caribbean and west Africa).

Commercial Whaling

David Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what steps she is taking to curtail commercial whaling.

Ian McCartney: An international moratorium on commercial whaling has been in force since 1986.
	One country, Norway, has never been a party to the moratorium and has never ceased its commercial whaling operations.
	Two other countries, Japan and Iceland, have continued to kill whales but claim that this is in aid of scientific research. In October 2006 Iceland broke with the moratorium and resumed commercial whaling.
	The UK's opposition to Norway's commercial whaling programme has been consistent and strong. In April 2006, the UK led a démarche against Norway's announcement of a record increase in the number of North Atlantic minke whales they planned to catch last year. As it transpired, Norway only caught 546 of its planned catch of 1,052.
	UK officials at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in June 2006 were in the forefront of the opposition to Japan's unsuccessful attempts to overturn the moratorium. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs engage in international lobbying to encourage other countries to join the IWC and oppose commercial whaling and lethal scientific whaling. In December 2006 the UK joined a démarche of 27 countries requesting Japan to reconsider its planned whaling programme for the next year.
	The UK led the international condemnation of Iceland's decision to resume commercial whaling. On 1 November 2006, our ambassador in Reykjavik led a multinational démarche of 25 countries plus the European Commission, making clear the extreme disappointment felt by those parties at Iceland's decision, and urging Iceland to abandon its current operations. My hon. Friend the Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare summoned the Icelandic ambassador on 17 October 2006 to protest in the strongest possible terms against Iceland's activities.

Indonesia

Peter Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations she has made to the Government of Indonesia regarding the burning of rainforests for agricultural purposes; and if she will make a statement.

Ian McCartney: With our EU colleagues, we have expressed concern to the Indonesian Government about the widespread forest fires, and offered further technical assistance to prevent illegal logging and promote forest conservation.
	The Department of International Development has a long-running multi-stakeholder Forestry Programme in Indonesia which aims to address deforestation, illegal logging and forest governance, through a comprehensive programme of support to civil society and Government organisations. The programme has influenced local forest policy processes and is making a real impact on the lives of forest-based communities.

Information Technology

Steve Webb: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs how much was spent on information technology by Government Communications Headquarters in each financial year since 1997-98.

Margaret Beckett: holding answer 19 January 2007
	The Government Communications Headquarters funding and expenditure are part of the Single Intelligence Account, details of which are not made public in the interest of national security. The National Audit Office and the Intelligence and Security Committee have proper oversight of the accounts of the Security and Intelligence Agencies.

Iraq

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations the Prime Minister has made to the Iraqi authorities on  (a) the fairness of the trial of Saddam Hussein and  (b) the use of the death sentence.

Kim Howells: At the direct request of my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister, our ambassador in Baghdad conveyed the Prime Minister's serious concern about the unacceptable behaviour at Saddam Hussein's execution, and reiterated the Government's opposition to the use of the death penalty, to the Iraqi Prime Minister shortly after the execution.
	Since the Iraqi interim government reintroduced the death penalty with effect from 7 August 2004, the United Kingdom, together with the European Union, has regularly raised our policy of opposition to the death penalty at the highest level, including with the Iraqi President and Prime Minister. Officials from our embassy in Baghdad repeated this view to the Iraqi government at the highest level on a number of occasions immediately before and after Saddam Hussein's execution.
	The Iraqi judicial authorities are responsible for ensuring that trials at the Iraqi Higher Tribunal are conducted in accordance with procedures prescribed by Iraqi law. We have stressed repeatedly to the Iraqi authorities the importance of independence of the judiciary. Saddam Hussein's trial was open and held in the presence of independent monitors and the media.

Iraq

Colin Breed: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs when the Prime Minister was first informed that  (a) Saddam Hussein's execution would be by hanging and  (b) Iraqi television would be covering the execution.

Kim Howells: Iraqi criminal procedure law stipulates that death sentences be carried out by hanging. It was clear when the Iraqi Transitional National Assembly approved the Iraqi Higher Tribunal's statute and rules of procedure on 11 August 2005, that if Saddam Hussein or any other defendant was convicted and sentenced to death by the tribunal execution would be by hanging.
	Official coverage of the execution was a matter for the Iraqi authorities to determine. The Government of Iraq immediately investigated and condemned unofficial coverage.

Lebanon

Keith Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what plans  (a) she and  (b) and Ministers and officials from her Department have to attend the Paris 3 Conference on the Lebanon on 25 January.

Kim Howells: My right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary will be attending the Paris 3 Conference on Lebanon with officials from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Portland Trust

Mark Francois: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what payments her Department has made to the Portland Trust since 2003.

Kim Howells: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave him on 17 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 1212-13W.

UN Budgets

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what the marketing and advertising budget of each of the UN agencies is for 2006-07.

Kim Howells: The UN Specialised Agencies do not have specific budgets for marketing and advertising. Expenditure on activity such as producing information material, advertising publications and maintaining websites is generally included under administrative budgets or under the programme headings to which the material produced relates. The figures provided by each agency do not always cover the same areas of activity or include the same costs (e.g. staffing). They are therefore not directly comparable.
	The following table provides the amount each agency (listed) has spent in UN financial (calendar) year 2006 on activity which it deems to fall under the general area of marketing and advertising. A broad description of activity covered by the figures is included in the table. In most cases, the amounts are given in the local currency of the country where the agency headquarters are based. Where an agency has been unable to provide figures, this is shown in the table.
	
		
			  UN agency  Amount spent in 2006  Description of activity 
			 Food and Agriculture Organisation US$50,000 Recruitment advertising. Public service announcements are contracted on a  pro bono basis. 
			 International Civil Aviation Organisation —(1) — 
			 International Fund for Agricultural Development $40,000 Recruitment advertising and exhibition materials. 
			 International Labour Organisation (ILO) US$40,000 Marketing new ILO publications. The ILO's Communications Department conducts activity that incorporates marketing and advertising but it is not possible to isolate these costs from their budget records. 
			 International Maritime Organisation (IMO) £45,000 Promotional materials (not including the corporate newsletter), catalogues, advertising publications. 
			 International Telecommunication Union (ITU) CHF3.1 million Issuing media advisory notices, publishing the ITU journal and promoting ITU products and services. Includes staffing costs. 
			 UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation US$6.8 million Annual budget for the Bureau of Public Information, including media relations, publications and events management. Includes staffing costs. 
			 UN Industrial Development Organisation €90,370 Production of video and media material. Promotional printing costs. 
			 World Tourism Organisation €250,000(2) Participation in tourism fairs. Producing fliers, brochures and publications. 
			 Universal Postal Union CHF81,000 Publications, posters and audiovisual material. 
			 World Health Organisation —(1) — 
			 World Intellectual Property Organisation CHF2.4 million Creation, design, marketing and distribution of printed material. Film, multimedia material and website maintenance. Does not include staff costs. 
			 World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) CHF863,000 Annual budget for the WMO's Information and Public Affairs Department. It does not include the cost of the WMO Bulletin or the website. 
			 (1) Figures not available. (2) Approximate. (3) This figure reflects budget allocation rather than actual expenditure.

UN Security Council

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs which countries the Government support for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council.

Kim Howells: We support expansion of both permanent and non-permanent membership of the Security Council, to make it more representative of today's world. We support the candidatures of Germany, Japan, India and Brazil for permanent seats on an enlarged Council, as well as permanent African representation.

EDUCATION AND SKILLS

Absence from School

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many Essex pupils had unauthorised absences from school in each of the past five years.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table.
	
		
			  Pupils who took at least one unauthorised absence from maintained mainstream schools in Essex local authority 
			  Number 
			   Primary( 1)  schools  Secondary( 1)  schools 
			 2002 12,680 12,745 
			 2003 13,898 13,494 
			 2004 14,667 16,673 
			 2005 13,737 20,218 
			 2006 14,122 20,685 
			 (1) Includes middle schools as deemed. 
		
	
	Unauthorised absence is absence without leave from a teacher or other authorised representative of the school. This includes all unexplained or unjustified absences, such as lateness, holidays during term time not authorised by the school, absence where reason is not yet established and truancy.

Cadet Forces

Mark Harper: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the expansion of cadet forces in schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he will answer the question tabled by the hon. Member for Forest of Dean on 22 November 2006, on cadet forces in schools.

Jim Knight: The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is running a pilot project with a small number of state schools to establish new combined cadet forces (CCF) in these schools. In order to do this the MOD has drawn on an existing list of schools that had already indicated interest. The Department has discussed this list with the MOD early this year.
	Funding for this is being provided directly by the Treasury. The Department has therefore not had any discussions with the Chancellor of the Exchequer around this project.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether his Department has plans to modify the unaccompanied asylum seeking children leaving care costs grant determination for local authorities who have above average numbers of unaccompanied asylum seeker children in care.

Jim Knight: From its inception in 2004-05 the former unaccompanied asylum seeking children care leavers grant has been focused on supporting those authorities which support the largest numbers of such young people. Recently, local authorities were advised by means of my Department's regular bulletin that the qualifying threshold (25 full-time equivalent young people) and the weekly rate (£100) that applied during the 2005-06 grant year will be continued in 2006-07. The effect of this will be to ensure that local authorities with above average numbers are able to access the grant on the same terms as last year.

Child Asylum Seekers

John Randall: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what consultation took place with local authorities in advance of the issue of his Department's circular 2005-15 on 17 October 2005 and circular 2006-1 on 11 January 2006 on the reform of unaccompanied asylum seeking children leaving care costs grant.

Jim Knight: Following the issue of Local Authority Circular (2004)6 in February 2004, representations were received both from individual local authorities and local government representative bodies. In response to these, it was decided to give further consideration to the terms of the 2004-05 former unaccompanied asylum seeking children care leavers contingency grant, including through the carrying out of a survey of local authorities. As a result, the terms of the 2004-05 contingency grant were altered, with the changes being confirmed in Local Authority Circular (2005)15. In addition, representations were also made by local authorities and their representative bodies about the basis on which a 2005-06 grant might be made. These informed the determination of that grant, which was notified to local authorities through Local Authority Circular (2006)1.

Darwen City Academy

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills which companies have been selected for the  (a) construction and  (b) operation of Darwen City Academy to date.

Jim Knight: Aedas Architects Ltd. has been selected to design the proposed Darwen Aldridge Community Academy. No companies have been selected for the construction or operation of the Academy.

Early Retirement

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what measures his Department is taking to reduce the number of teachers choosing to take early retirement.

Jim Knight: The number of teachers retiring early is significantly lower than it was 10 years ago. In 1996-97, some 10,200 teachers were given premature retirement and a further 4,980 retired early on the grounds of ill health. Corresponding figures for 2005-06 are 6,640 and 1,470 respectively.
	From 1 January 2007, new provisions have been introduced into the Teachers' Pension Scheme that will provide teachers with greater choice and flexibility over the way they manage the transition from work to retirement. These changes will allow teachers to wind down in the years leading up to retirement, for example by moving to part-time working or taking a post with less responsibility, while protecting their pension rights. New phased retirement provisions have also been introduced that will enable teachers to remain in teaching in a reduced capacity while at the same time drawing some of their pension benefits.
	Work force reforms, the continuing drive to reduce bureaucracy in schools and these new pension provisions will serve to encourage older teachers to extend their working lives in ways that better support their personal circumstances and in doing so will have a positive impact on teacher retention.

Education Expenditure

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills pursuant to the answer to the right hon. Member for Manchester, Gorton (Sir Gerald Kaufman), of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, column 239W, on education expenditure, how the figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 was calculated, and how it relates to the figure given on 30 October 2006,  Official Report, column 209W; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The figure given for schools capital investment in 2005-06 on 5 December 2006 was £5.5 billion, in unadjusted cash terms. This comprised grant allocations from the Department of £2.9 billion, supported borrowing allocations of £1.4 billion, and allocations of PFI credits amounting to £1.2 billion.
	The figure for schools capital investment in 2005-06 given on 30 October 2006 was £3,080 million, at 2005-06 price levels. This was taken from local authority returns submitted to the Department for Communities and Local Government.
	The difference between the two figures is one of timing. The allocations figure of £5.5 billion represents the additional financial commitment made to local authorities by the Department in 2005-06, while the £3,080 million figure reflects authorities' actual expenditure within the year, with some of the allocated supported borrowing being delivered by the local authority over a period of years.

Education Supervision Orders

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many education supervision orders were put in place for children with special educational need in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex in each of the last five years.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect data relating to education supervision orders.

Educational Psychologist Referrals

Crispin Blunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the average waiting time for a pupil between being referred to, and seen by, an educational psychologist was in the last period for which figures are available.

Jim Knight: This information is not collected centrally.

E-Learning Credits

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how much was distributed to schools through e-Learning credits in each year since 2002.

Jim Knight: The following funding has been issued to schools through the Standards Fund as a ring-fenced e-Learning credits grant:
	
		
			   £ million 
			 2002-03 30 
			 2003-04 100 
			 2004-05 100 
			 2005-06 100 
			 2006-07 75 
		
	
	Schools may supplement this investment from other budgets, and in line with our policy to reduce ring-fencing, we only ring fenced £75 million in 2006-07, and will only ring fence £50 million in 2007-08 but have ensured additional funding has been made available through the devolved formula capital grant.

Foreign Language Programmes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on foreign language programmes on  (a) television and  (b) radio; and what the implications will be for foreign language channels on the radio post-digital switchover.

Bill Rammell: There have been no discussions between the Secretary of State for Education and Skills and the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, or between officials in each Department, on foreign language programmes on television or radio. The Government's programme for digital switchover, which is the responsibility of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, relates to the switchover to digital-only broadcasting on television. I understand there are no current plans to switch over from analogue to all-digital radio broadcasting.

Foreign Language Programmes

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills when he expects to answer  (a) question 109600, on foreign language programmes, tabled on 12 December 2006 and  (b) question 108545, on the Book Share Scheme, tabled on 7 December 2006 by the hon. Member for Vale of York (Miss McIntosh).

Bill Rammell: My right hon. Friend the Minister of State for Children, Young People and Families replied to the hon. Member's question 108545 on 15 January 2007,  Official Report, column 798W. I have responded to the hon. Member's question 109600 today.

Foreign Languages

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  whether schools are required to abide by the non-statutory guidelines for modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4;
	(2)  what the mandatory elements are of the National Curriculum in relation to the provision of modern foreign languages at Key Stage 4.

Jim Knight: As a result of changes introduced in September 2004, modern foreign languages is no longer a compulsory subject in the Key Stage 4 curriculum. Instead pupils have a statutory entitlement to study languages. The non-statutory guidelines, first published by QCA in 2004 as part of the Guidance document "Modern Foreign Languages in the Key Stage 4 Curriculum", provide a non-statutory framework for the teaching of modern foreign languages, which is similar to a programme of study. The QCA Guidance is for head teachers, curriculum managers and teachers with responsibility for modern foreign languages in schools with Key Stage 4 provision. It is expected that regard will be had to the guidance, though schools are not bound to follow the non-statutory guidelines. The content of study for the range of qualifications, approved under sections 96/98 of the Learning and Skills Act 2000, which pupils may take at Key Stage 4 varies with some courses emphasising certain aspects more than others.

Foundation Schools

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many foundation schools had a trust or foundation attached in each year since 1997.

Jim Knight: holding answer 19 January 2007
	We do not hold this information centrally: foundation schools with a foundation are not a distinct category of schools, and so are not identified separately on the register of schools. However, based on information supplied by local authorities and schools, we understand that 101 foundation schools currently have charitable foundations, comprising around 11 per cent. of the total number of foundation schools.

GCSEs

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to ensure that the schools which did not meet the Government's GCSE targets in 2006 do so in future years.

Jim Knight: All secondary schools are required to set ambitious targets for the performance of their pupils at Key Stage 4—notably the numbers of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications, and from 2008, the number of pupils that will get five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications including English and maths. School Improvement Partners, typically high quality head teachers, will work closely with a school, ensuring that it identifies the support it needs to evaluate its performance and make improvements that enable all children to fulfil their potential.
	All schools have access to high quality curriculum support and professional development opportunities for staff in the core subjects of English, maths, science and information and communications technology provided by the Government's Secondary National Strategy. The National Strategy also provides expert subject consultant support for those schools facing particular challenges in those subjects. The Government supports programmes that help underperforming schools work in collaboration with excellent schools to drive up their performance, with a particular focus on use of performance data and sharing of good practice. For schools below the Government's minimum floor targets, we have a range of strategies for ensuring the performance of these schools increases rapidly, including the replacement of the school by an Academy, the federation of the school with another stronger, often specialist, school, and bespoke packages of support focusing on improving the leadership and management, teaching and learning at the school. We are monitoring the impact of the support currently in place at each of these schools to ensure that it has the necessary impact. We are also aiming to identify those schools that are currently above our floor targets but are at highest risk of missing them in future years, so we can provide them with additional support now to ensure that their performance improves.
	Our approach has been highly successful—as evidence from the figures published last week suggests—58.5 per cent. of pupils aged 15 achieved 5 A*-C GCSEs or equivalent qualifications in 2006, an increase of 13.4 percentage points since 1997; 45.3 per cent. of pupils achieved this standard including English and maths, a 9.7 percentage point improvement since 1997. The number of all-ability schools where more than 70 per cent. of pupils achieve five or more good GCSEs or equivalent qualifications has risen seven fold since 1997—up from 83 to 604; and the number of schools where fewer than 25 per cent. of pupils achieve this standard is now 47, down from 616 in 1997.

GCSEs

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what percentage of pupils in maintained schools achieved five A*-C grades at GCSE in 2006 excluding equivalents, applied GCSE double awards, media/film/TV studies GCSE, physical education GCSE, social sciences GCSEs, information and communication technology GCSE, statistics GCSE and humanities GCSE.

Jim Knight: holding answer 18 January 2007
	In 2006, 47.6 per cent. of pupils at the end of key stage 4(1) in maintained schools(2) in England achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C excluding equivalents, applied GCSE double awards, and GCSEs in media/film/TV studies, physical education, social sciences, information and communication technology, statistics and humanities. The corresponding figures for five or more A*-C grades at GCSE and equivalent in any subjects are 57.0 per cent. for maintained schools and 59.2 per cent. for all schools.
	(1) Pupils at the end of key stage 4 in the academic year.
	(2 )Includes community schools, voluntary aided schools, voluntary controlled schools, foundation schools, city technology colleges, academies, community special schools, foundation special schools.

GCSEs

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many pupils attending  (a) mainstream maintained schools and  (b) all schools took (i) English, (ii) mathematics and (iii) any subject at GCSE in 2006.

Jim Knight: The information requested is in the following table:
	
		
			  Number of pupils at the end of key stage 4 entered in English, mathematics, and any subject at GCSE in 2005/06 
			  Thousand 
			  Subject  Maintained mainstream schools  All schools 
			 English 563.7 611.2 
			 Mathematics 570.0 615.3 
			 Any subject 576.2 628.7

History Teaching

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many history graduates entered teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers in each of the last 10 years.

Jim Knight: The following table shows the number of history graduates entering Initial Teacher Training (ITT) courses in order to qualify as primary school teachers in England between 2001/02 and 2004/05.
	
		
			  Number of history graduates entering post graduate initial teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers 
			   History graduates entering teacher training to qualify as primary school teachers 
			 2001/02 720 
			 2002/03 620 
			 2003/04 690 
			 2004/05 660 
			  Notes: 1. Includes universities and other HE institutions, SCITT and OU, but excludes employment based routes. 2. Recruitment numbers shown are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Figures for 2005/06 will be available in July 2007.  Source: TDA's Performance Profiles.

History Teaching

Bernard Jenkin: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps he plans to take to increase the teaching of British history in schools.

Jim Knight: British history is a key requirement at Key Stages 1-3 (ages 5-14) for history. For example, at Key Stage 3 there are six units pupils must study three of which are on British history spanning 1066-1900. Pupils must also learn about the impact of world events on Britain. At GCSE and A-level the criteria set by QCA includes a requirement that pupils study at least 25 per cent. British history.

IT Equipment

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what estimate he has made of the  (a) number and  (b) value of incidents of theft of information technology equipment from schools in 2005.

Jim Knight: The Department does not collect this information.

Joint International Unit

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the budget is of the Joint International Unit; and how much was spent over 2005-06 on recruiting foreign students to UK institutions.

Bill Rammell: The total Joint International Unit budget for programmes in 2005-06 was £34,956,000 and in 2006-07 is £44,185,000. The amount spent through the DFES Prime Minister's Initiative to recruit foreign students to UK institutions was £1,200,000 in 2005-06. The Joint International Unit covers both Department for Work and Pensions and DFES international programmes. It is estimated that international students contribute around £5 billion per year to the UK economy.

Literacy: Primary Schools

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department  (a) is taking and  (b) plans to take to improve the literacy of primary school students.

Jim Knight: Since the introduction of the National Literacy Strategy in 1998, there has been a 14 percentage point improvement in the number of pupils achieving the target level for their age in the Key Stage 2 English tests.
	To build on this success, the new Primary National Strategy literacy framework was made available to schools October 2006 and will support faster progression in English. The new framework fully reflects the recommendations from Jim Rose's independent review of early reading which advocates 'high quality phonic work' as the key means for teaching beginner readers how to read and spell words. The implementation of the new framework is backed by a comprehensive programme of professional development for head teachers and subject leaders in schools. The Primary National Strategy also continues to improve the focus and accessibility of its comprehensive range of teaching and training support including through expert consultants at the local level in order to improve primary results at both key stages.
	Furthermore the 'Every Child a Reader' pilot, which provides intensive support for those children with significant difficulties in reading, will be rolled out nationally benefiting 30,000 children a year by 2011.

National College of School Leadership

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what the annual budget is of the National College of School Leadership; and how many people are employed there.

Jim Knight: In 2005-06 the annual budget including grant in aid and other income and supplementary programme funding was £95.074 million as reported in the college's annual report and accounts. The average number of people employed by the college during this period was 247, including agency, temporary and contracted staff.

Parents in Prison

Annette Brooke: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  how many children in England are known to have had a parent in prison in  (a) 1996 and  (b) 2006;
	(2)  how many children in England are predicted to have a parent in prison in  (a) 2007 and  (b) 2008.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 15 January 2007
	I have been asked to reply.
	Information on the number of children having a parent in prison is not collected centrally.
	A 2003 resettlement survey of 1,945 adult British national sentenced prisoners showed the average number of children per prisoner was 0.87.
	More detail on the 2003 survey is available in Home Office Research Findings 248 which is available on the research development and statistics website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/rfpubs1.html

School Libraries

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills whether it is the policy of his Department that school libraries should include information on students' ethnicity as part of their records of borrowers.

Jim Knight: It is for schools to decide what information school libraries keep on borrowers. For those schools that have libraries the Department has no policy on the collection and recording of information.

Sexual Orientation Regulations

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what discussions he has had on the effects of the Sexual Orientation Regulations on the religious freedom of Christian Unions in  (a) universities and  (b) schools.

Parmjit Dhanda: Ministers in the Department have held no such discussions.

Special Educational Needs

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what proportion of children in  (a) Chorley and  (b) Lancashire with a special educational need were referred to the Special Educational Need and Disability Tribunal in the last two years.

Vera Baird: I have been asked to reply.
	The following table gives the number of appeals against Lancashire local authority in the last two school years, and the number of children with special educational needs in the local authority's primary and secondary schools in the January of the relevant period. Appeals concern children residing in the local authority, rather than pupils at the local authority's schools. It would therefore be misleading to express one figure as a proportion of the other. Chorley is not a local education authority and we do not collate appeals data at the more local level.
	
		
			   Special Educational Needs Appeals  Children with special educational needs 
			 2005-06 63 26,866 
			 2004-05 66 27,050

Special Schools

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many unfilled special school places there were in each local authority in England in each year since 1997.

Parmjit Dhanda: holding answer 22 January 2007
	This information is not collected centrally.

Teachers: Redundancy Payments

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teachers took redundancy payments in each local education authority in each year from 1997 to 2006; and what the total value of redundancy payouts made in each authority was in each year.

Jim Knight: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Teaching Assistants

David Willetts: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills how many teaching assistants there were in schools in each local authority in each year from 1997 to 2006.

Jim Knight: The following table provides the number of full-time equivalent teaching assistants employed in local authority maintained schools in England by local authority, January 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Full-time equivalent teaching assistants in maintained nursery, primary, secondary, special schools and pupil referral units in England, January 1997 to 2006 
			   1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005  2006 
			 Gateshead 190 200 210 220 300 320 370 350 450 480 
			 Newcastle upon Tyne 270 300 310 330 410 330 480 580 700 620 
			 North Tyneside 200 220 220 240 270 180 300 250 290 430 
			 South Tyneside 160 160 160 180 250 350 280 420 440 470 
			 Sunderland 420 400 440 460 610 510 690 750 810 850 
			 Hartlepool 100 110 120 140 210 140 260 250 310 310 
			 Middlesbrough 210 200 180 210 280 360 440 520 530 520 
			 Redcar and Cleveland 150 170 160 170 180 120 200 250 240 380 
			 Stockton on Tees 210 220 230 280 340 210 280 290 380 430 
			 Former Durham 640 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Darlington — 120 130 140 170 200 210 190 270 300 
			 Durham (post 1 April 1997) — 550 580 620 690 650 820 990 1,090 1,100 
			 Northumberland 320 340 380 450 560 650 720 800 910 1,040 
			 North East 2,867 2,990 3,130 3,450 4,280 4,010 5,060 5,630 6,430 6,930 
			
			 Cumbria 610 620 660 730 840 1,100 1,110 1,150 1,200 1,310 
			 Former Cheshire 1,130 1,240 — — — — — — — — 
			 Cheshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 830 870 1,020 1,120 1,230 1,350 1,530 1,740 
			 Halton — — 190 200 240 250 270 320 320 330 
			 Warrington — — 250 270 320 370 380 440 510 630 
			 Bolton 390 430 480 570 650 790 830 950 1,050 1,070 
			 Bury 270 260 280 330 360 460 480 540 590 640 
			 Manchester 740 750 750 810 1,080 1,430 1,610 1,750 1,880 1,920 
			 Oldham 390 410 430 470 560 580 630 690 780 830 
			 Rochdale 260 270 290 340 530 680 710 760 840 860 
			 Salford 430 440 450 480 530 700 570 660 790 780 
			 Stockport 340 360 310 410 510 670 700 750 810 780 
			 Tameside 280 290 310 360 490 360 420 460 520 660 
			 Trafford 190 200 220 230 300 230 300 380 420 440 
			 Wigan 340 390 420 430 560 440 740 800 880 980 
			 Former Lancashire 1,780 2,000 — — — — — — — — 
			 Lancashire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,670 1,830 2,190 1,960 3,130 3,300 3,570 3,890 
			 Blackburn with Darwen — — 300 350 430 360 530 580 610 650 
			 Blackpool — — 190 220 290 190 390 430 480 480 
			 Knowsley 210 230 260 280 350 470 430 490 480 460 
			 Liverpool 450 490 520 610 920 720 1,150 1,150 1,190 1,130 
			 St. Helens 260 270 290 310 390 420 480 530 640 610 
			 Sefton 360 380 410 470 580 490 650 680 750 780 
			 Wirral 320 350 390 420 570 620 780 790 850 1,020 
			 North West 8,750 9,370 9,920 10,990 13,700 14,400 17,500 18,950 20,700 22,020 
			
			 Kingston-upon-Hull, City of 370 400 440 460 540 510 540 640 880 920 
			 East Riding of Yorkshire 340 370 410 470 550 500 650 800 880 950 
			 North East Lincolnshire 220 240 260 310 460 520 570 650 630 690 
			 North Lincolnshire 180 200 240 270 330 430 450 510 550 600 
			 North Yorkshire (post 1 April 1996) 440 540 560 630 800 1,150 1,190 1,410 1,540 1,710 
			 York 140 160 170 220 250 350 370 400 440 500 
			 Barnsley 360 360 360 350 400 610 670 680 680 680 
			 Doncaster 520 460 470 620 640 780 810 860 970 840 
			 Rotherham 280 310 330 410 540 580 770 880 970 900 
			 Sheffield 580 640 710 800 1,080 790 1,200 1,230 1,360 1,590 
			 Bradford 1,240 1,200 1,230 1,370 1,590 1,600 1,870 1,880 1,980 2,000 
			 Calderdale 370 400 420 520 630 720 770 820 880 860 
			 Kirklees 580 620 670 970 1,120 1,160 1,140 1,270 1,390 1,490 
			 Leeds 1,560 1,670 1,670 1,780 1,950 2,380 2,470 2,460 2,550 2,500 
			 Wakefield 540 580 570 650 780 950 960 940 970 1,090 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 7,700 8,160 8,500 9,830 11,660 13,030 14,430 15,420 16,680 17,330 
			
			 Former Derbyshire 1,180 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Derbyshire (post 1 April 1997) — 930 990 1,160 1,460 1,660 1,720 1,820 1,980 2,190 
			 Derby — 360 380 430 510 590 670 760 830 930 
			 Former Leicestershire 940 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Leicestershire (post 1 April 1997) — 580 640 760 920 970 1,190 1,150 1,630 1,730 
			 Leicester — 470 520 540 620 730 900 930 1,120 1,090 
			 Rutland — 50 50 70 70 80 100 100 120 120 
			 Lincolnshire 810 820 890 990 1,250 1,550 1,610 1,980 2,190 2,370 
			 Northamptonshire 810 880 990 1,090 1,330 1,310 1,330 1,360 1,680 1,940 
			 Former Nottinghamshire 1,310 1,420 — — — — — — — — 
			 Nottinghamshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,000 1,090 1,350 1,600 1,660 1,770 1,990 2,060 
			 Nottingham — — 540 570 720 770 900 950 1,010 1,060 
			 East Midlands 5,050 5,500 6,010 6,690 8,220 9,270 10,090 10,830 12,560 13,490 
			
			 Former Hereford and Worcester 630 800 — — — — — — — — 
			 Herefordshire — — 190 210 250 190 330 370 410 420 
			 Worcestershire — — 680 760 820 930 1,290 1,450 1,580 1,580 
			 Former Shropshire 510 540 — — — — — — — — 
			 Shropshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 350 390 460 560 640 690 780 750 
			 Telford and Wrekin — — 260 280 370 390 480 530 580 640 
			 Former Staffordshire 1,270 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Staffordshire (post 1 April 1997) — 960 1,060 1,160 1,370 1,310 1,750 1,820 2,070 2,080 
			 Stoke-on-Trent — 460 460 490 540 460 620 750 820 830 
			 Warwickshire 530 630 700 980 1,040 1,240 1,250 1,470 1,590 1,630 
			 Birmingham 2,030 2,080 1,630 1,740 2,170 2,970 3,130 3,320 3,930 4,390 
			 Coventry 390 440 440 670 820 690 640 740 770 770 
			 Dudley 350 410 420 530 680 830 880 960 1,060 1,200 
			 Sandwell 460 460 490 520 650 500 600 650 850 970 
			 Solihull 280 300 300 320 370 410 470 520 610 630 
			 Walsall 380 390 380 440 580 700 810 840 950 820 
			 Wolverhampton 390 400 420 470 570 230 360 480 580 720 
			 West Midlands 7,220 7,870 7,770 8,970 10,670 11,420 13,260 14,600 16,590 17,430 
			
			 Former Cambridgeshire 1,240 1,370 — — — — — — — — 
			 Cambridgeshire (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,000 1,090 1,230 1,420 1,480 1,830 2,020 1,880 
			 Peterborough — — 380 500 540 660 720 780 910 1,050 
			 Norfolk 730 850 930 1,050 1,490 1,710 1,740 1,870 2,310 2,570 
			 Suffolk 500 610 660 770 1,100 920 1,430 1,350 1,460 1,540 
			 Former Bedfordshire 790 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Bedfordshire (post 1 April 1997) — 580 650 710 820 950 1,070 1,140 1,240 1,340 
			 Luton — 290 360 430 530 560 620 720 780 820 
			 Former Essex 1,720 1,840 — — — — — — — — 
			 Essex (post 1 April 1998) — — 1,620 1,760 2,100 3,140 3,500 3,660 3,810 3,920 
			 Southend-on-Sea — — 220 280 350 460 560 600 640 650 
			 Thurrock — — 210 290 340 430 540 550 570 630 
			 Hertfordshire 1,080 1,270 1,250 1,510 1,800 1,740 2,710 2,870 3,110 2,910 
			 East of England 6,060 6,800 7,280 8,380 10,300 12,000 14,370 15,360 16,850 17,290 
			
			 City of London(1) — — — — — — 10 10 10 10 
			 Camden 200 240 250 300 360 440 470 550 580 640 
			 Greenwich 360 400 430 510 650 650 730 750 820 920 
			 Hackney 210 250 290 380 420 490 530 610 680 720 
			 Hammersmith and Fulham 190 200 210 250 240 260 300 360 380 430 
			 Islington 250 250 270 350 360 350 480 520 560 620 
			 Kensington and Chelsea 130 140 140 170 210 220 260 270 300 280 
			 Lambeth 300 350 390 500 560 580 640 720 770 750 
			 Lewisham 280 290 320 410 570 470 560 620 670 720 
			 Southwark 350 420 430 650 810 750 710 900 1,030 1,070 
			 Tower Hamlets 370 400 450 510 800 970 950 1,070 1,150 1,320 
			 Wandsworth 330 370 370 460 470 380 530 590 730 800 
			 Westminster 150 170 160 190 190 310 280 330 420 370 
			 Barking and Dagenham 300 290 310 320 400 500 510 560 540 560 
			 Barnet 290 340 400 480 550 740 720 850 980 1,070 
			 Bexley 200 230 280 310 380 320 560 550 600 570 
			 Brent 260 300 360 390 440 450 470 560 640 680 
			 Bromley 210 230 230 270 360 440 500 520 550 620 
			 Croydon 400 410 510 530 660 630 870 950 1,010 980 
			 Ealing 340 360 370 400 510 450 530 630 690 670 
			 Enfield 250 290 290 500 590 810 880 970 1,050 1,160 
			 Haringey 350 360 380 420 490 650 680 810 900 960 
			 Harrow 270 270 290 300 300 330 430 480 540 550 
			 Havering 170 170 200 260 300 310 520 590 680 660 
			 Hillingdon 300 340 380 420 510 520 590 620 740 800 
			 Hounslow 280 280 290 330 380 400 400 550 580 680 
			 Kingston upon Thames 130 130 150 170 220 220 250 310 360 380 
			 Merton 190 200 220 240 290 250 300 370 530 460 
			 Newham 280 280 390 500 960 720 1,070 1,190 1,300 980 
			 Redbridge 190 230 270 370 450 580 620 730 820 910 
			 Richmond upon Thames 100 110 110 130 160 210 220 250 330 350 
			 Sutton 160 170 210 230 260 340 310 360 430 360 
			 Waltham Forest 380 400 410 470 490 610 640 670 780 760 
			 London 8,160 8,870 9,790 11,740 14,330 15,340 17,510 19,800 22,140 22,820 
			
			 Former Berkshire 940 970 — — — — — — — — 
			 Bracknell Forest — — 140 130 170 110 190 190 210 220 
			 Windsor and Maidenhead — — 150 160 220 210 220 280 300 330 
			 West Berkshire — — 190 200 230 330 350 430 530 490 
			 Reading — — 200 200 240 280 280 280 320 250 
			 Slough — — 230 250 300 340 440 450 530 530 
			 Wokingham — — 210 220 230 290 290 360 380 380 
			 Former Buckinghamshire 650 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Buckinghamshire (post 1 April 1997) — 460 470 490 570 750 710 840 950 1,100 
			 Milton Keynes — 260 270 280 300 310 450 530 530 680 
			 Former East Sussex 700 — — — — — — — — — 
			 East Sussex (post 1 April 1997) — 490 560 650 720 1,000 1,070 1,350 1,380 1,330 
			 Brighton and Hove — 270 310 320 380 410 370 400 460 510 
			 Former Hampshire 2,560 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Hampshire (post 1 April 1997) — 1,880 1,920 1,960 2,120 2,900 3,010 3,160 3,280 3,210 
			 Portsmouth — 330 400 410 480 600 600 630 830 660 
			 Southampton — 370 430 470 490 610 630 640 660 660 
			 Isle of Wight 160 210 250 270 320 300 360 370 450 430 
			 Former Kent 2,330 2,490 — — — — — — — — 
			 Kent (post 1 April 1998) — — 2,210 2,470 2,750 3,620 4,160 4,330 4,860 4,660 
			 Medway — — 440 670 830 710 830 900 960 930 
			 Oxfordshire 780 830 860 930 1,030 1,080 1,280 1,440 1,670 1,630 
			 Surrey 1,170 1,290 1,360 1,500 1,570 1,960 2,350 2,390 2,610 2,720 
			 West Sussex 530 650 670 710 780 1,090 1,310 1,330 1,480 1,660 
			 South East 9,830 10,480 11,250 12,290 13,720 16,910 18,890 20,300 22,400 22,360 
			
			 Isles of Scilly — — — — 10 — 10 10 — — 
			 Bath and North East Somerset 170 170 160 160 180 70 100 80 170 270 
			 City of Bristol 650 700 690 770 850 920 920 1,040 1,110 1,110 
			 North Somerset 190 220 220 260 290 310 380 380 450 430 
			 South Gloucestershire 270 280 300 350 430 480 560 550 590 640 
			 Cornwall 790 870 960 980 990 1,000 1,170 1,190 1,860 1,630 
			 Former Devon 810 960 — — — — — — — — 
			 Devon (post 1 April 1998) — — 630 770 1,020 1,360 1,740 2,090 2,190 2,380 
			 Plymouth — — 320 310 720 660 710 650 750 870 
			 Torbay — — 140 170 180 200 220 290 280 300 
			 Former Dorset 430 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Dorset (post 1 April 1997) — 330 390 580 660 780 890 1,180 1,300 1,350 
			 Poole — 110 150 180 220 400 390 430 420 460 
			 Bournemouth — 130 170 210 240 380 380 410 400 460 
			 Gloucestershire 470 490 550 590 740 710 750 700 910 1,030 
			 Somerset 610 660 680 710 830 920 990 980 1,100 1,380 
			 Former Wiltshire 530 — — — — — — — — — 
			 Wiltshire (post 1 April 1997) — 340 350 350 410 560 650 780 750 750 
			 Swindon — 240 230 260 310 220 220 410 370 380 
			 South West 4,940 5,490 5,940 6,670 8,090 8,980 10,070 11,160 12,650 13,440 
			
			 England 60,580 65,540 69,600 79,020 94,990 105,360 121,190 132,060 147,000 153,100 
			 (1) City of London did not make a return in 2002.  Notes: 1. The first, second and third phases of local government reorganisation came into effect on 1 April 1996, 1 April 1997 and 1 April 1998 respectively. The new authorities are shown directly below their former parent local education authorities. 2. Totals are rounded to the nearest 10. 3. Totals may not appear equal to the sum of the component parts because of rounding.  Source: Annual Schools' Census (ASC).

Truancy

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills what steps his Department plans to take to tackle truancy in the next 12 months.

Jim Knight: The Government attach great importance to their work with schools and local authorities on improving school attendance. The Department's current key priorities for this work are to continue and maintain the system-wide drive across all schools to reduce absence rates, with a particular focus on reducing the amount of 'persistent absence', including truancy.
	During this year, my Department will be offering additional challenge and support, through the National Strategies, to 436 secondary schools, located across 54 local authorities, which have been identified as having particularly high levels of persistent absence. The National Strategies will be supporting these local authorities and schools in planning and monitoring their progress during the year; sharing with them its knowledge of best practice across the system; challenging current systems and processes to help improve them; and closely monitoring progress on reducing levels of persistent absence.

Violent Crime Reduction Bill

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what resources will be made available to schools for the screening of pupils for weapons under the terms of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill; how these resources will be allocated; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  when he expects to publish guidance to head teachers on the implementation of the screening of pupils for weapons under the terms of the Violent Crime Reduction Bill; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: We expect to publish draft guidance for public consultation in the next few weeks, and final guidance in the spring. This will cover both the power to search pupils for weapons on suspicion which will commence later this year under the Education Act 1996 as amended (inserted by the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006), and screening pupils for weapons without suspicion following the policy announced in this House on 16 October 2006,  Official Report, column 41WS. DFES has not imposed any new duty on schools in England to search or screen pupils. Schools wishing to search or screen pupils should fund this from their overall resources; they have received a good funding settlement in Dedicated Schools Grant for 2006-07 and 2007-08. The national average per pupil increased 14 per cent. over the two years.

Wireless Networking

Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Education and Skills 
	(1)  what consultations he has undertaken on the use of wireless networking in schools; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  whether his Department has published any regulations or guidelines concerning the use of wireless networking in schools; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: The decision on the use of specific technologies, including wireless networks, within schools is made at local level. The Department has not therefore consulted on the issue of wireless networks.
	The British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (Becta), the lead agency on the use of ICT, have produced guidance on wireless local area networks which is available on their website to local authorities and schools.

SOLICITOR-GENERAL

BAE Systems

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General what investigations into alleged bribery and corruption by BAE Systems are being undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office; which countries are involved; when the investigations are expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The SFO has three branches of investigation which relate to BAE Systems Plc. These cases were accepted for investigation in July 2004.
	The countries involved are South Africa, Romania, Tanzania, the Czech Republic, Chile and Quatar.
	No precise timescale can be provided for when the investigations are expected to be completed. However the Attorney-General has made it clear to the Director of the SFO that he should pursue these investigations vigorously.

BAE Systems

Vincent Cable: To ask the Solicitor-General what investigations into alleged bribery and corruption by companies other than BAE Systems are being undertaken by the Serious Fraud Office; which countries are concerned; when the investigations are expected to be completed; and if he will make a statement.

Mike O'Brien: The Serious Fraud Office is currently investigating five cases other than those concerning BAE Systems Plc where there are allegations of bribery or corruption abroad, as well as fraud. Four of these cases concern companies.
	It is not possible for operational reasons to give details of all of these cases, but they include an investigation into Energy Financing Team Ltd. in Bosnia, an investigation into Kellogg Brown and Root in connection with Nigeria and a number of other countries and an investigation into the construction of the Unesco-financed Bibliotecha Alexandrina in Egypt.
	In most cases it is not possible to give a specific timescale for completion of the investigation, as that often depends on the speed of the response by other jurisdictions to Letters of Request from the Serious Fraud Office. A decision whether to bring charges is expected later this year in relation to at least one case. The Attorney-General has made it clear to the Director of the SFO that he should pursue these investigations vigorously.
	A number of other cases are currently being considered for investigation in the vetting process.

TREASURY

Bank Accounts

Jim Cousins: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what estimate he has made of the percentage of people aged  (a) 18 to 25,  (b) 26 to 50,  (c) 51 to 65,  (d) 66 to 85 and  (e) over 85 years who have a bank account in each region and county in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Edward Balls: The most recent data available that allow assessment to be made of levels of bank account holding are the Family Resources Survey from 2002-03. The information in the survey is at household level, not individual level, and shows that 92 per cent. of households in the United Kingdom had an account in that year.
	These data are broken down to Government Office regional level:
	
		
			  Government Office Region  Households with any type of account (percentage) 
			 North East 89 
			 North West and Merseyside 91 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber 91 
			 East Midlands 90 
			 West Midlands 90 
			 Eastern 96 
			 London 91 
			 South East 96 
			 South West 97 
			 England 93 
			 Wales 90 
			 Scotland 92 
			 Northern Ireland 83 
			 United Kingdom 92 
		
	
	The data can also be broken down by the age of the Household Reference Person (the owner of the household property, or the household member with the highest income):
	
		
			  Age of Household Reference Person  Households with any type of account (percentage) 
			 16 to 24 87 
			 25 to 34 92 
			 35 to 44 93 
			 45 to 54 94 
			 55 to 59 93 
			 60 to 64 92 
			 65 to 74 93 
			 75 to 84 91 
			 85 or over 88 
			 All households 92

Debt

Ann McKechin: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was received by the Government from  (a) low and  (b) lower middle income countries in 2005-06 on debts owed to (i) the Export Credits Guarantee Department, including debts that have been rescheduled after Paris Club agreements, and (ii) HM Treasury, broken down by country; and how much is expected to be received in each category in 2006-07.

Edward Balls: The following table shows how much was received by the Export Credits Guarantee Department from  (a) low and  (b) lower middle income countries in 2005-06 and how much is expected to be received in 2006-07. All amounts received and expected are in respect of debts that have been rescheduled after Paris Club agreements. There are no debts outstanding specifically to the Treasury.
	
		
			  £ million 
			  Category  Country  2005-06 paid  2006-07 expected 
			 Low Income Kenya 0.56 1.27 
			  Nigeria 1045.72 656.94 
			  Pakistan 1.43 1.34 
			  Vietnam 0.78 0.83 
			 
			 Lower Middle Income Algeria 20.23 119.64 
			  Angola — 91.59 
			  Bosnia and Herzegovina 0.06 0.08 
			  Brazil 176.96 — 
			  Ecuador 8.95 7.3 
			  Egypt 12.93 13.48 
			  Jordan 7.54 22.8 
			  Macedonia 0.55 0.48 
			  Morocco 6.55 4.70 
			  Peru 57.18 2.88 
			  Philippines 2.86 2.59 
			  Serbia and Montenegro 5.98 6.0 
			 (1) Includes received and anticipated payments. 
		
	
	To note that the receipt from Nigeria of £656.94 million was the final instalment paid under the terms of the 20 October 2005 Paris Club debt agreement that saw some $18 billion cancelled (equivalent to about 60 per cent. of Nigeria's debt in the Paris Club) in return for Nigeria using part of its oil windfall to pay off its remaining debt. This debt deal represented the largest single debt relief package ever for sub-Saharan Africa.

ECOFIN

Vincent Cable: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  pursuant to the written statement of 14 December 2006,  Official Report, column 93WS, on ECOFIN (28 November), what conclusions were reached on company tax obstacles hindering the functioning of the internal market; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on the conclusions reached on future work to combat tax fraud;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on the agreement reached on the Travellers' Allowance Directive;
	(4)  if he will make a statement on the agreement reached on an extension of the 2003 e-commerce arrangements;
	(5)  if he will make a statement on the conclusions adopted on reducing administrative burdens caused by requirements to report data in the European Union;
	(6)  if he will make a statement on the conclusions reached on future work to combat tax fraud;
	(7)  if he will make a statement on the European Commission's  (a) presentation on its approach to and  (b) conclusions on tackling barriers in the clearing and settlement industry;
	(8)  if he will make a statement on the Finnish progress report on the directive on payment services in the internal market;
	(9)  if he will make a statement on the issues discussed relating to the minimum excise rates on alcoholic beverages;
	(10)  what future work programme was agreed for the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation; and if he will make a statement;
	(11)  if he will make a statement on the Commission's assessment of the company tax obstacles hindering the function of the internal market;
	(12)  what subjects were covered in the progress report from the Code of Conduct Group on Business Taxation; and if he will make a statement;
	(13)  in what ways he and his EU counterparts will work together to modernise and simplify the VAT system; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: Written ministerial statements are tabled before and after Council meetings. Further details of what was agreed at the Council, and the Council Conclusions, are available at the ECOFIN section of the Council website:
	http://www.consilium.europa.eu/ueDocs/cms_Data/docs/pressData/en/ecofin/91899.pdf
	A copy of this document has been deposited in the House Library.

EU Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the total gross contribution made by the Government to the EU was in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last five years; how much the UK has contributed to the EU since joining the organisation; and what this figure represents per head of population.

Edward Balls: The United Kingdom's gross contribution to the EC budget, after taking account of the United Kingdom abatement, in calendar years 2001 to 2005 can be found in Table 3 (page 46) of the annual European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. Over the period 1973 to 2005 the United Kingdom's total gross contribution, after taking account of the United Kingdom abatement, was £136,661 million. Based on EUROSTAT population figures for the United Kingdom in 2005 (60,034.5 thousand) the total contribution equates to £2,276 per head, an average of £69 per year over the 33-year period.

EU Finance

Michael Penning: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much the UK received from the EU in  (a) the most recent year for which figures are available and  (b) each of the last five years; for what purposes payments were made; how much as a percentage of total receipts by member states the UK has received since joining the organisation; and what this figure represents per head of population.

Edward Balls: Figures for UK public sector receipts from the EC Budget in calendar years 2001 to 2005 can be found in table 3 (page 46) of the annual European Community Finances White Paper (Cm 6770) published in May 2006. This table also shows the EC programmes to which these receipts relate. Over the period 1973 to 2005 the United Kingdom's total public sector receipts were £78,866 million. Based on EUROSTAT population figures for the United Kingdom in 2005 (60,034.5 thousand) the total receipts equate to £1,314 per head, an average of £40 per year over the 33-year period. Figures for the total level of the EC Budget over the period 1973 to 1975 are not readily available.
	However, based on figures published by the European Court of Auditors/European Commission, total UK receipts over the period 1976 to 2005 amount to 8.8 per cent. of total member state contributions to the EC Budget over that period and to 64.9 per cent. of UK contributions over the period. UK receipts amount to 9.5 per cent. of total receipts paid to member states over the 1976 to 2005 period.

Lean Programme

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what guidance has been issued to staff in his Department and its agencies as part of the Lean programme on desk tidying; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: As part of Lean working practices, HMRC gives staff advice and support in deciding how to make the most efficient use of the space available to them.

Non-departmental Public Bodies

Nick Hurd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer which non-departmental public bodies are sponsored by his Department; what the function is of each body; and what the annual budget of each body was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Healey: Details of public bodies sponsored by the Department can be found in "Public Bodies 2006" published by the Cabinet Office, a copy of which is in the Library.

Regularisation Schemes

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will estimate how much in additional tax revenue would be received if long-term irregular migrants working in the UK were subject to regularisation schemes; and if he will consider introducing regularisation schemes for those migrants.

Liam Byrne: I have been asked to reply.
	An estimate of irregular migrants working in the UK is not available. No Government of the UK has been able to say with accuracy how many irregular migrants are present in the country, and this is the case for any Government in the world.

Temporary National Insurance Numbers

David Ruffley: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many temporary national insurance numbers were issued by HM Revenue and Customs in each year since 1997; and what proportion were for tax credit purposes.

Dawn Primarolo: For numbers to 2005-06, I refer the hon. Gentleman to the answer I gave on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, column 1114W, to the right hon. Member for Birkenhead (Mr. Field).
	Around 14,000 temporary references using a NINO format have been issued from April 2006 to date.

Unemployment: Luton, South

Margaret Moran: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how many and what percentage of young people in Luton, South were unemployed in each year since 1997.

John Healey: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 January 2007:
	As National Statistician, I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about unemployment. (116708)
	The Office for National Statistics (ONS) compiles statistics of unemployment for parliamentary constituencies from the annual local area Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the Annual Population Survey (APS) following International Labour Organisation definitions.
	Table 1, attached below, shows the number of unemployed people, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency, for the 12 months ending in February from 1997 to 2004, from the annual local area LFS and for the 12 months ending in March 2005 and 2006, from the APS and the corresponding unemployment rates which are defined as the number of unemployed expressed as a percentage of the economically active population in the relevant age group.
	As these estimates are for a subset of the population in a small geographical area, they are based on very small sample sizes, and are therefore subject to large margins of uncertainty. In this case, the sample sizes are not sufficient to give an accurate estimate of even the direction of the change over the period.
	ONS also compiles statistics for local areas of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA). Table 2, attached, shows the annual average number of people aged 18 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency, claiming JSA from 1997 to 2006.
	
		
			  Table 1: Unemployed persons, aged 16 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency 
			  Thousand 
			  12 months ending:  Level  Rate( 1)  (percentage) 
			 February 1997 1 18.6 
			 February 1998 (2)— (2)— 
			 February 1999 (2)— (2)— 
			 February 2000 1 8.8 
			 February 2001 2 19.7 
			 February 2002 2 18.8 
			 February 2003 2 21.6 
			 February 2004 2 19.2 
			 March 2005 1 15.2 
			 March 2006 1 9.7 
			 (1) Unemployed as a percentage of the economically active population. (2) Sample size too small to provide estimates.  Notes: 1. Estimates are subject to random variability. 2. Changes in the estimates over time should be treated with particular caution.  Source: Annual local area Labour Force Survey; Annual Population survey. 
		
	
	
		
			  Table 2: Annual average number of claimants of jobseeker's allowance aged 18 to 24, resident in the Luton South constituency 
			   Number 
			 1997 780 
			 1998 595 
			 1999 510 
			 2000 435 
			 2001 410 
			 2002 460 
			 2003 550 
			 2004 540 
			 2005 600 
			 2006 710 
			  Source: Jobcentre Plus administrative data.

VAT

Mark Francois: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1747W, on VAT 
	(1)  what the effect on VAT receipts has been of the change in the law on 3 December 2004 regarding VAT on the supply of services to non-EU customers;
	(2)  whether he plans to conduct a regulatory impact assessment of the effects on the UK financial services industry of the change in the law on 3 December 2004 regarding VAT on the supply of services to non-EU customers.

Dawn Primarolo: HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not collect data on VAT relating to individual goods and services.
	HMRC has no current plans to carry out a Regulatory Impact Assessment. However, HMRC officials are discussing the issue with a number of businesses and trade bodies.

TRANSPORT

Access for All Small Schemes

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many applications have been  (a) received and  (b) granted under the Access for All programme.

Tom Harris: There have been three rounds of bidding for the Access for All Small Schemes funding since its launch on 23 March 2006. Over the first two rounds of bidding 151 applications were received and 119 of them were successful. 150 applications have been received for the third round of bidding, which closed on 24 November, and the successful bids are due to be announced shortly.

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Edinburgh airport and London City airport in the last year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled  (a) economy and  (b) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and London City airport in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Edinburgh to/from London City: 
			  Class  Number( 1) 
			 Business(2) 16,000 
			 Economy(3) 201,000 
			 Other(4) 20,000 
			 Total passengers 237,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA Passenger Survey (Edinburgh airport survey, 2005)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Dundee airport and  (a) London City airport and  (b) Manchester International airport in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Dundee airport and London City and Manchester airports in 2003 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number( 1) 
			  Class  Dundee to/from London City  Dundee to/from Manchester 
			 Business(2) 8,000 0 
			 Economy(3) 39,000 1,000 
			 Other(4) — 0 
			 Total passengers 47,000 1,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2). Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA Passenger Survey (London City airport survey, 2003 and Manchester airport survey, 2003)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Edinburgh airport and  (a) Luton,  (b) Stansted,  (c) Gatwick,  (d) Heathrow,  (e) Manchester International,  (f) Birmingham International,  (g) Leeds Bradford International and  (h) Nottingham East Midlands airports in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled by (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Edinburgh airport and Luton, Stansted, Gatwick, Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			 ( 1) Number 
			   Class  
			   Business( 2)  Economy( 3)  Other( 4)  Total 
			  Edinburgh to/from: 
			 Luton 1,000 442,000 34,000 476,000 
			 Stansted — 488,000 36,000 525,000 
			 London Gatwick 27,000 676,000 55,000 758,000 
			 London Heathrow 73,000 1,411,000 152,000 1,636,000 
			 Manchester International 16,000 238,000 32,000 286,000 
			 Birmingham International 6,000 390,000 29,000 425,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 4,000 47,000 1,000 52,000 
			 Nottingham East Midlands 0 220,000 20,000 241,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response. Source: CAA passenger Survey (Edinburgh airport survey, 2005)

Air Services

Mark Lazarowicz: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many passengers were carried between Glasgow airport and  (a) London Heathrow,  (b) Manchester International,  (c) Birmingham International,  (d) Leeds Bradford International and  (e) Nottingham East Midlands airports in the most recent year for which figures are available; and how many of those passengers travelled by (i) economy and (ii) business class.

Gillian Merron: The estimated number of passengers carried between Glasgow airport and London Heathrow, Manchester International, Birmingham International, Leeds Bradford International and Nottingham East Midlands airports in 2005 were as follows:
	
		
			  Number( 1) 
			   Class  
			   Business( 2)  Economy( 3)  Other( 4)  Total 
			  Glasgow to/from: 
			 London Heathrow 75,000 1,280,000 68,000 1,423,000 
			 Manchester International 13,000 152,000 4,000 169,000 
			 Birmingham International 5,000 261,000 3,000 269,000 
			 Leeds Bradford International 12,000 31,000 0 43,000 
			 Nottingham East Midlands — 166,000 3,000 170,000 
			 (1) Nearest thousand. (2) Includes business, club and first class tickets. (3) Includes Economy (full fare and other), frequent flier scheme, inclusive/package tour, charter seat only and standby tickets. (4) Includes other and non-response.  Source: CAA passenger Survey (Glasgow airport survey, 2005)

Blue Badge Scheme

Daniel Kawczynski: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will assess the merits of establishing a system which distinguishes between Blue Badge holders who need wheelchair access and those who do not.

Gillian Merron: The Department for Transport believes that a two-tier scheme whereby different parking concessions are awarded to different classes of badge holders would complicate the Blue Badge scheme and make enforcement more difficult for police and parking enforcement officers. For the scheme to continue to be workable it is essential that only one class of badge is issued, and that this should be restricted to those people with the greatest mobility problems.

Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 15 January 2007,  Official Report, columns 751-2W, on the Driver Vehicle Licensing Agency, how many of the requests were refused in each month.

Stephen Ladyman: Prior to 1 November 2006, DVLA did not keep records of the number of requests for information that were refused. The number of requests refused in November 2006 is 37,834. The number refused in December 2006 is 20,549.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport on what dates Ministers in his Department and its predecessors made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Gillian Merron: Since the Department for Transport was formed in May 2002, my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State, his predecessors and other Ministers visited Tower Hamlets and Newham in an official capacity on following dates.
	 Tower Hamlets
	4 December 2003
	16 June 2005
	 Newham
	23 March 2004
	8 November 2004
	25 May 2005
	27 April 2006
	8-11 October 2006 (visit on each day)
	30 October 2006
	7 December 2006

Flights: Cyprus

Nicholas Winterton: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he expects the Civil Aviation Authority to respond to the application made by Cyprus Turkish Airlines for permission to operate direct flights between the United Kingdom and Ercan airport in northern Cyprus.

Gillian Merron: A request for permission to operate flights direct between northern Cyprus and the UK was made to the Department for Transport on behalf of Kibris Turkish Airlines in November 2006. The Department for Transport has advised the airline that the legal position concerning possible direct flights is currently being reviewed, and that no decision on their request would be made until that review has been completed.

Franchise Agreements

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what appraisal was made of the  (a) environmental and  (b) social benefits of each franchise let by his Department in the past two years; and what weighting was given to those appraisals in agreeing the contractual terms of the franchise agreement.

Tom Harris: The social and environmental impacts of franchises let over the last two years by the Strategic Rail Authority and the Department for Transport were assessed in line with the Department's transport appraisal guidance 'WebTAG'. In agreeing the contractual terms of the franchise agreements, full account was taken of all the five New Approach to Appraisal (NATA) criteria.

Highways Agency Expenditure: Faversham and Mid Kent

Hugh Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much was spent by the Highways Agency in Faversham and Mid Kent constituency in the last year for which figures are available, broken down by programme.

Stephen Ladyman: The information requested is not available.

M18 Motorway Closure

Greg Knight: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport for what reason the M18 motorway was closed to all traffic on 11 January 2006; upon whose authority the motorway was closed; why a complete closure was deemed necessary; and if he will make a statement.

Stephen Ladyman: The M18 motorway was closed to all traffic between Junctions 6 and 7 on 11 January 2007 because a heavy goods vehicle had blown over due to high winds. The police requested the full closure as a safety measure to prevent more vehicles being blown over in the high winds.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specific date.

Gillian Merron: The information is not available in the format requested. However, between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2006, 3,042 ordinary written parliamentary questions were tabled with 93 per cent. answered within 10 sitting days.
	During the same period, 735 named day parliamentary questions were tabled to the department with 76 per cent. answered on the date specified.
	My ministerial colleagues and I aim to ensure that hon. Members receive a substantive response to their named day question on the named day and endeavour to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of being tabled. Unfortunately, this is not always possible, but the Department for Transport makes every effort to achieve these timescales.

Public Sector Pensions

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what the cash equivalent transfer value is of the public sector pensions of the 10 highest paid members of staff in his Department and its executive agencies; and if he will make a statement.

Gillian Merron: The cash equivalent transfer value of the pensions for seven of the 10 highest paid members of staff in the Department for Transport and its executive agencies are detailed in the Remuneration Reports in the accounts for the Department for Transport and the Highways Agency which are published annually and are already in the public domain.
	The cash equivalent transfer value of the pensions for the three other highest paid members of staff in the Department for Transport and its executive agencies are as follows:
	
		
			   £000 
			 1 74 
			 2 44 
			 3 300

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether the New Approach to Appraisal is applied when his Department specifies and awards rail franchises.

Tom Harris: The New Approach to Appraisal is used to assess value for money when the Department specifies rail franchises. It is also used at the award stage to assess the value for money of priced options for these franchises.

Railways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many complaints he has received in relation to First Great Western's new timetable.

Tom Harris: The ministerial team at the Department for Transport have received 81 letters since 1 April 2006 from parliamentary colleagues which make reference to First Great Western's new timetable.

Railways

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment he has made of the number of train services between Kings Cross and Shipley and Bradford which should be included in the next franchise agreement.

Tom Harris: The proposed specification for the new Intercity East Coast franchise is expected to be the same as the current timetable, except that a half-hourly service will operate to Leeds throughout the day from May 2007. A stakeholder consultation exercise is in progress, and meetings have been held with local stakeholders along the route. The Department for Transport will consider changes to the specification as set out in the consultation document before bidders are invited to tender for the franchise in March.

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport when he last met First Great Western to discuss train services following timetable service changes that came into force on 10 December 2006.

Tom Harris: The last meeting with First Great Western at which train services were discussed was on 17 January 2007.

Railways

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what  (a) additional services First Great Western plans to provide and  (b) timetable amendments the company plans to make following the implementation of the new timetable on 10 December 2006.

Tom Harris: First Great Western has not informed the Secretary of State of plans for additional services or timetable amendments.

Railways

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what the  (a) location,  (b) value and  (c) the purchaser are of British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd land and buildings sold since May 1997;
	(2)  what the  (a) location and  (b) estimated value is of British Railways Board (Residuary) Ltd land and buildings that he intends to dispose of by 2011.

Tom Harris: The location of all properties held by BRB (Residuary) Ltd. (BRB(R), including those sold since May 1997 can be found on the BRB(R) website at www.brb.gov.uk . The company also holds some 4,000 structures such as bridges and tunnels over and under disused railway lines. A list showing the location of these is in the Library of the House.
	Between 1996-97 and 2005-06 BRB(R) has sold in excess of 680 sites which have generated proceeds of approximately 480 million. In view of the large number of sites and the timescales involved details of individual purchasers can be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
	As at 31 March 2006 the book value of BRB(R)'s non operational land and buildings was 154 million. However, the company also has interests in a number of administrative office buildings which are held on historic onerous leases. The company has made a provision of 143 million to cover this liability.
	The actual proceeds from future sales will be dependent on a number of factors such as any restrictions placed on sales by the autonomous Property Review Group and market conditions at the time of sale. DfT guidance on the operation of the Property Review Group can also be found on BRB(R)'s website.

Railways

David Evennett: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many railway stations in London are not fully accessible to the disabled.

Tom Harris: The Department does not hold information on the level of accessibility at all stations across London.

Railways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what definition the Department uses of peak-time travel on the railways.

Tom Harris: Peak-time travel on the railways is defined as services between 7 am and 10 am and 4 pm and 7 pm on weekdays.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport pursuant to the answer of 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1754W, on the East Coast Railway Line, if he will place in the Library a copy of the most recent rail passenger census.

Tom Harris: A copy of the most recent rail passenger census data relating to 2005 is available in the Office of Rail Regulation publication National Rail Trends which has been placed in the House Library. This document is also available via the internet at the following address:
	http://www.rail-reg.gov.uk/upload/pdf/294.pdf.
	The 2006 data will be in the next publication of National Rail Trends in April 2007, and a copy will be placed in the House Library.

Railways

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment of the  (a) social and  (b) environmental implications of each passenger rail franchise is made by his Department in setting the specification for bidders.

Tom Harris: The social and environmental impacts of franchise specifications are assessed in line with the Department's WebTAG transport appraisal guidance.

Railways

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will initiate an investigation into the operation of the new Great Western franchise, with particular reference to  (a) reliability,  (b) punctuality and  (c) the new timetable; and if he will investigate the current performance of (i) First Great Western and (ii) Network Rail.

Tom Harris: I hold meetings regularly with First Great Western and Network Rail to assess performance. Joint action plans are in place between Network Rail and FGW to address performance issues. These are monitored monthly.
	Network Rail is regulated by the Office of Rail Regulation (ORR). ORR has been investigating performance on the western routes.

Railways

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what proposals are being evaluated to increase train traction on steel tracks.

Tom Harris: Train traction can be increased by controlled application of sand and by managing wheel-spin through intelligent control of the torque applied to the wheels by the motor. Both of these methods are already in use on modern rolling stock and locomotives across the UK network. New wheel materials with a higher coefficient of friction are theoretically possible but none has been found so far that is capable of standing up to railway conditions. Linear induction motors (which do not rely on wheel/rail friction) are in use in a few niche applications across the world but require expensive additional infrastructure.

Roadside Emergency Telephones

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how many roadside emergency telephones there are on the road network; and how many were  (a) reported as faulty,  (b) vandalised and  (c) replaced in each of the last 10 years.

Stephen Ladyman: There are 6,835 emergency roadside telephones on motorways and all-purpose trunk roads in England.
	Information on telephone faults and maintenance replacements is only available as detailed.
	 (a) Telephone availability throughout the year is monitored automatically and recorded as the annual percentage availability. Statistics are currently available for the period 2002 to 2005 as follows:
	
		
			   Telephone availability (Percentage) 
			 2002 99.716 
			 2003 99.492 
			 2004 99.798 
			 2005 99.757 
		
	
	 (b) Separate records are not kept nationally for the number of telephones vandalised.
	 (c) Telephones replaced in 2004, 2005 and 2006 due to equipment failure, damage or vandalism totalled:
	
		
			   Number of telephones replaced 
			 2004 141 
			 2005 205 
			 2006 202 
		
	
	A national programme of works is currently under way to upgrade roadside emergency telephones to include new technology that has become available. During 2005 and 2006 a total of 878 telephones were replaced as part of this programme.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what documents his Department and its agencies translate for people in the UK who do not speak English; into which languages such documents are translated; and what the cost was of producing such translations in each of the last five years, broken down by language of translation;
	(2)  for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided.

Gillian Merron: The Department has a framework contract to supply translations to support the services it provides and these are commissioned by individual business units within the Department as required. Information on the services and costs for which translations are made is not held centrally, and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The DfT and its Executive Agencies have translated the following documents:
	
		
			  Title  Language 
			 South East Pilot Polish, French, German, Spanish 
			 Side Swipe materials Polish, French, German, Spanish 
			 Vehicle Identity Check Scheme English, Welch, Urdu, Polish, Gujarati, Bengali, Punjabi, Arabic 
			 MOT Certificate Welsh (Bilingual) 
			 Supported/related MOT documentation Welsh (Bilingual) 
			 MOT 'Stuffers' and leaflets Welsh (Bilingual) 
			 Flexible Bus registration applications and supplementary forms Welsh 
			 Application to change or cancel details of a local service registration Welsh 
			 Local Service bus registration. Welsh drivers public inquiry call up letters Welsh 
			 Frequently asked questions about flexible bus registrations Welsh 
			 Traffic regulation conditions Welsh (Bilingual) 
			 Fuel Consumption booklet Welsh 
			 Stay SAFE at the seasideDial 999 and ask for the Coastguard Welsh 
			 How to fill in your driving licence application Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Classical Chinese, Gujarati, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu 
			 Driving in Great Britain as a visitor or new resident Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Classical Chinese, Gujarati, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu 
			 Import Pack Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Classical Chinese, Gujarati, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu 
			 Clamping Down on vehicle tax evasion If things go wrong Arabic, Bengali, Bulgarian, Classical Chinese, Gujarati, Kurdish, Lithuanian, Polish, Portuguese, Punjabi and Urdu 
			 Get Across Road Safety Bengali, Gujarati, Punjabi, Turkish and Urdu 
			 Cleaner Motoring leafletDrive Clean, Drive Cheaper Welsh 
			 Teach Road Safety (for parents) Welsh 
			 Air Transport White Paper Welsh 
			 Consultation on Transport Energy Clean Vehicle Programme Welsh 
			 Consultation on Graduated Fixed Penalty and Deposit Scheme and Enforcement of Drivers Welsh 
			 Transport Matters Welsh 
			 Maintaining a Vital Asset Welsh 
			 Disability Equality Scheme Welsh 
			 Transport and Works Act Orders Brief Guide Welsh

HOME DEPARTMENT

ASBOs

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were issued in each London borough in each of the last four years; how many have been breached in each case; how many breaches have resulted in a period of detention or imprisonment in each case; and if he will make a statement.

Tony McNulty: A table giving the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued annually, as reported to the Home Office by the Court Service, by the local government authority area in which prohibitions have been imposed, up to 31 December 2005 (latest available), can be found on the Crime Reduction website at:
	www.crimereduction.gov.uk.
	ASBO breach data are not available at local authority level. The available information is given in the table.
	
		
			  Number of antisocial behaviour orders issued between 2002 and 2005 in the Greater London Criminal Justice System (CJS) area and the number subsequently proven in court to have been breached 
			   Year in which ASBO issued 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Total issued 21 139 441 528 
			  of which: 
			 Breached(1) 11 68 215 155 
			  of which: 
			 Given a custodial sentence(2) 8 49 121 78 
			 (1) On at least one occasion by the end of 2005. (2) On at least one occasion.  Note: Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Sources:  ASBOs issued: Court Service. ASBOs breached: OCJR Court Proceedings Database.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many child protection referrals have been made by Ashfield Young Offender Institution since 2004; and what the  (a) issue and  (b) outcome was in each case.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There have been a total of 204 child protection referrals from HMP and YOI Ashfield since November 2004. The issues involved and outcomes are detailed in the following table.
	
		
			   Number 
			  Issue  
			 Allegation against staff 71 
			 YP on YP assault 48 
			 Risk to child in community 42 
			 Historical abuse disclosure 40 
			 Risk to public due to index offence 3 
			   
			  Outcome  
			 Referred to South Gloucestershire Social Services prior to social worker start date but no known outcome 58 
			 Closed by internal senior social worker following referral(1) 105 
			 No action by South Gloucestershire Social Services internal investigation 35 
			 Section 47 investigation under the Children Act 1989 requested by South Gloucestershire Social Services 6 
			 (1 )Since January 2006 HMP and YOI Ashfield has employed the services of a senior social worker to accept initial referrals and to determine whether these need to be passed on to South Gloucestershire Social Services for further consideration.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many staff have been injured in Ashfield Young Offender Institution since 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Accident records show that a total of 616 staff have been injured at Ashfield YOI since 2004.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many incidents of ill-discipline resulted from strip searching in Ashfield Young Offender Institution since 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There have been no instances of ill discipline resulting from full searching (strip-searching) at HMP and YOI Ashfield since 2004.

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many young people were held in segregation in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month since January 2005; and how many have been so held for more than  (a) seven and  (b) 28 days since 2004.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures requested are included in the following tables.
	
		
			  Number held in reorientation since 2005 
			   Number 
			  2005  
			 January 25 
			 February 23 
			 March 19 
			 April 14 
			 May 41 
			 June 41 
			 July 43 
			 August 31 
			 September 35 
			 October 40 
			 November 35 
			 December 29 
			   
			  2006  
			 January 30 
			 February 22 
			 March 23 
			 April 20 
			 May 27 
			 June 26 
			 July 24 
			 August 24 
			 September 37 
			 October 38 
			 November 28 
			 December 34 
		
	
	
		
			  Number held in reorientation for more than seven days and 28 days since January 2004 
			   Number 
			 Held for more than seven days 276 
			 Held for more than 28 days 21

Ashfield Young Offender Institution

Rudi Vis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many times control and restraint was used in Ashfield Young Offender Institution in each month since January 2005.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The figures requested are included in the following table.
	
		
			  Number of times control and restraint was used in Ashfield YOI in each month since January 2005 
			  Month  Number 
			  2005  
			 January 11 
			 February 19 
			 March 18 
			 April 23 
			 May 34 
			 June 35 
			 July 29 
			 August 40 
			 September 42 
			 October 44 
			 November 48 
			 December 27 
			  2006  
			 January 44 
			 February 30 
			 March 25 
			 April 25 
			 May 33 
			 June 24 
			 July 30 
			 August 44 
			 September 37 
			 October 44 
			 November 40 
			 December 26

Assets Recovery Agency

David Lidington: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Government informed any political party in Northern Ireland of its decision to abolish the Assets Recovery Agency in advance of his written statement to Parliament.

Vernon Coaker: The Government did not inform any political party of its plans to merge the Assets Recovery Agency and the Serious Organised Crime Agency in advance of the written statement on 11 January 2007,  Official Report, column 21WS.

Community Support Officers

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the impact on response to crime in Hampshire of the planned reduction in funding for police community support officers.

Tony McNulty: The funding for neighbourhood policing in Hampshire, including police community support officers (PCSOs), will increase by 46 per cent. from 4.8 million in 2006-07 to 7 million in 2007-08. By April 2007 Hampshire constabulary will have 333 PCSOs. They will play an important part in the continuing roll out of neighbourhood policing which will further reduce the fear of crime and address antisocial behaviour.

Community Support Officers

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has for recruitment of community support officers in Chorley.

Tony McNulty: Police community support officer (PCSO) recruitment is a matter for the force concerned.
	The Home Office has provided funding though the Neighbourhood Policing Fund to increase the number of PCSOs in Lancashire to 417. It is a matter for the Chief Constable how these are deployed across the force area.

Correspondence

Sarah Teather: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when he will write to the hon. Member for Brent, East on the subject of the deportation of Irish nationals; and if he will place a copy of the letter in the Library.

Liam Byrne: I wrote to the hon. Member on 22 November 2006 regarding this matter.

Crime Statistics

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prosecutions there have been since 1996 for  (a) the murder of a child or young person under 18,  (b) the manslaughter of a child or young person under 18,  (c) common assault and battery and  (d) cruelty to a person under 16 where the prosecuted person had parental responsibility for the victim, or was the partner of the person with parental responsibility.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Data from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform on the number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts in England and Wales for offences relating to cruelty or neglect of children for the years 1996 to 2005, are provided in the following table.
	Information on the familial relationship between defendant and victim is not held centrally. From the court proceedings database it is also not possible to identify the number of prosecutions for common assault and battery where victims were under 18 years of age.
	Suspects indicted for homicide by outcome of proceedings, where the victim was under 18 years old, England and Wales, 1995 to 2004-05 can be found in the following table.
	Latest data from the Homicide Index were published in table 2.09 of Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005 (HOSB 02/06). The table provided shows the number of suspects indicted where the victim was aged under 18.
	
		
			  Number of defendants proceeded against at magistrates courts for offences relating to cruelty or neglect of children in England and Wales, 1996-2005( 1, 2) 
			Proceeded against 
			  Statute  Offence description  1996  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 Children and Young Persons Act 1933 Sec 1 Cruelty or neglect of children 503 608 710 839 750 662 787 955 921 836 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis. (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  Source: RDS Office for Criminal Justice Reform 
		
	
	
		
			  Suspects indicted for homicide by outcome of proceedings( 1) , where victim under 18 years old, England and Wales, 1995 to 2004-05( 2,) 
			  Number 
			  Indictment and outcome  1995  1996  1997  1997-98  1998-99  1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05 
			  All suspects
			  Indictment( 3)
			 Murder 61 71 86 71 83 58 88 57 65 49 18 
			 Manslaughter(4) 15 28 24 23 18 22 33 14 21 8 5 
			 Infanticide 1 2 0 1 4 0 1 1 1 0 1 
			 Total 77 101 110 95 105 80 122 72 87 57 24 
			 
			  Outcome:
			  Not convicted of homicide( 5)
			 Not tried - count to remain on file(6) 0 1 7 6 6 0 6 1 3 0 0 
			 Found unfit to plead 1 0 0 0 0 1 2 0 0 0 0 
			 Found not guilty by reason of insanity 1 0 0 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 
			 Convicted of lesser offence 2 4 12 6 3 6 6 1 4 1 0 
			 Acquitted on all counts 19 19 19 15 23 17 21 12 25 17 6 
			 Committed suicide or died 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
			 Total 23 24 38 27 33 24 36 14 32 18 6 
			 
			  Convicted of homicide:
			 Murder 30 24 36 34 27 33 27 26 22 18 10 
			 Sec. 2 manslaughter 6 6 6 7 3 3 1 3 1 1 1 
			 Other manslaughter 15 43 27 23 35 19 53 28 32 20 6 
			 Infanticide 3 4 3 4 7 1 5 1 0 0 1 
			 Total 54 77 72 68 72 56 86 58 55 39 18 
			 
			 Total 77 101 110 95 105 80 122 72 87 57 24 
			 (1). As at 28 November 2005; figures are subject to revision as cases are dealt with by the police and the courts, or as further information becomes available. Figures for 2003-04 and 2004-05 are therefore likely to rise as cases progress through court. (2) Offences are shown by the year in which they were initially recorded by police as homicide. This is not necessarily the year in which the incident took place or the year in which any court decision was made. (3) In addition there were 402 suspects in 2004-05, for whom court proceedings were not completed by 28 November 2005. (4) Three corporate manslaughters were included in 2000-01 and one in 2001-02. (5) The offences for which these persons were indicted may nevertheless remain currently recorded as homicide. (6) This usually implies that the suspect has been dealt with for some less serious offence.  Source: Based on table 2.09 of Violent Crime Overview, Homicide and Gun Crime 2004/2005 (HOSB 02/06).

Departmental Computer Data

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many attempts to gain unauthorised access to his Department's computer systems have  (a) been detected and  (b) succeeded in each of the last five years.

Liam Byrne: The Home Office has appropriate, accredited mechanisms to prevent unauthorised access to IT infrastructure and databases. I am advised that no attempts to gain unauthorised access to Home Office computer systems have been detected in the last five years.

Driving Without Insurance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) community penalties and  (b) disqualifications were imposed on people driving without insurance in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, for the offence of 'using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks', from 2000-2004 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Findings of guilt at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle unisured against third party risks( 1)  community penalties imposed( 2)  and total disqualifications imposed( 3)  from driving, England and Wales 2000-04 
			  Number of offences 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003( 4)  2004 
			 Total findings of guilt 264,874 266,757 289,064 323,374 322,814 
			 of which:  
			 Community penalties imposed(2) 164 6,725 11,109 12,896 11,458 
			 Disqualifications imposed(3) 31,397 42,843 53,003 53,606 50,313 
			 (1) An offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2) (2) For 2000 includes probation or supervision order, community service order, attendance centre order, drug treatment and testing order. As from 2001 includes community rehabilitation or supervision order, community punishment order, attendance centre order, community punishment and rehabilitation order, curfew order, reparation order, action plan order, drug treatment and testing order and referral order. (3) Disqualifications are imposed as a secondary disposal. (4) As from 1 June 2003, 'driving a motor vehicle while uninsured against third party risks' became a fixed penalty offence.  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates' courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Driving Without Insurance

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  how many 200 fixed penalties were offered to people driving without insurance instead of a court summons in each of the last five years;
	(2)  how many fines were imposed for driving without insurance in each of the last five years; and what the average fine was in each year.

Vernon Coaker: Available information taken from the fixed penalty notices collection and the court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform, from 2000-04 (latest available) is provided in the following table.
	2005 data will be available later this year.
	
		
			  Total number of fixed penalty notices issued( 1,2) , fines( 3)  and average fines imposed at all courts for the offence of using a motor vehicle uninsured against third party risks( 4) , England and Wales, 2000-04 
			   2000  2001  2002  2003( 1)  2004 
			 Fixed penalty notices issued(1,2) n/a n/a n/a n/a n/a 
			 Total number of court fines(3) 178,300 177,000 189,000 217,300 227,600 
			 Average court fine () 203 150 155 160 169 
			 n/a = not applicable (1 )Fixed penalty of 200 introduced as from 1 June 2003. (2 )Only covers tickets paid where there is no further action. (3 )May include cases where fixed penalty notices were originally issued but not paid and subsequently referred to court. (4 )Offence under the Road Traffic Act 1988 s. 143 (2).  Notes: 1. It is known that for some police force areas, the reporting of court proceedings in particular those relating to summary motoring offences, may be less than complete. Work is underway to ensure that the magistrates' courts case management system currently being implemented by the Department for Constitutional Affairs reports all motoring offences to the Office for Criminal Justice Reform. This will enable more complete figures to be disseminated. 2. Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the courts and police forces. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their limitations are taken into account when these data are used.

Early-release Scheme

Julian Lewis: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) murders,  (b) manslaughters and  (c) other categories of unlawful killing have been committed by former prisoners during the period for which they were originally sentenced since the introduction of the early-release scheme.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 29 November 2006
	The following table sets out the number of offenders (as currently notified to the National Offender Management Service) who have been cautioned, convicted or are awaiting prosecution for offences of murder, manslaughter, and other categories of unlawful killing while they were subject to the home detention curfew scheme. These figures are from the start of the scheme, in January 1999 to the end of June 2006, and during the same period, over 130,000 offenders were placed on to the scheme.
	Re-offending figures are subject to change as further information is provided by the police and other criminal justice agencies, as new offences are identified, or offenders are acquitted.
	
		
			  From the start of the HOC scheme to end June 2006  Number 
			 Murder 1 
			 Manslaughter 4 
			 Manslaughter with mechanical vehicle (Death by Dangerous Driving) 1

E-crime

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the cost to the public purse of e-crime.

Vernon Coaker: This information is not held centrally and collecting it would involve disproportionate costs.
	There is no universal definition of e-crime.
	Departments do not quantify the cost to them of e-crime and it is not possible to reliably aggregate such costs.

Fireworks

David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many successful prosecutions have been made for  (a) illegal purchase of fireworks,  (b) illegal use of fireworks and  (c) use of fireworks as a weapon likely to cause human harm in each of the last two years, broken down by police authority area.

Vernon Coaker: The court proceedings database held by the Office for Criminal Justice Reform is unable to provide conviction data for the illegal purchase of fireworks, as there is no such offence. The number of persons found guilty of throwing, casting or firing fireworks, broken down by police force area, is shown in Table 1. The offence of using adult fireworks during night hours is coded with a wide range of other fireworks offences within the Fireworks Act 2003, and separate conviction data therefore cannot be provided. Cases involving the use of fireworks as a weapon likely to cause human harm cannot be separated, as data are not held to that level of detail.
	In addition, penalty notices for disorder can be issued for a range of fireworks offences. The offence of throwing a firework in a public thoroughfare came into force on 8 August 2002; the offence of breach of the fireworks curfew was added to the PND Scheme on 11 October 2004. The number of penalty notices issued for these two offences for the years 2004-06 (January to June 2006provisional) is included in Table 2.
	
		
			  Number of defendants found guilty of selected firework offences, in England and Wales, 2004 and 2005, broken down by police force area( 1,2,3) 
			   2004  2005 
			  Throwing, casting or firing any fireworks in or onto any highway, street, etc, public place   
			 Avon and Somerset  2 
			 Cheshire 1  
			 Cleveland 2 1 
			 Cumbria 1 1 
			 Devon and Cornwall 2 1 
			 Dorset  1 
			 Durham 1 2 
			 Essex 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 2 2 
			 Humberside 2  
			 Kent 1 1 
			 Lancashire 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 3 2 
			 Lincolnshire 4 1 
			 Merseyside 2  
			 Metropolitan police 3  
			 North Yorkshire 1 1 
			 Northumbria 4 2 
			 Nottinghamshire 1  
			 South Yorkshire 4 1 
			 Staffordshire 1  
			 Suffolk 1 2 
			 Surrey  1 
			 Sussex 1  
			 Thames Valley 1  
			 West Midlands 3  
			 West Yorkshire 3 1 
			 Gwent  1 
			 North Wales 1  
			 South Wales 5  
			 Total 55 26 
			
			  Contravening a prohibition imposed by fireworks regulations( 4)   
			 Greater Manchester 0 3 
			 Lancashire 0 1 
			 Leicestershire 1 0 
			 Metropolitan police 5 7 
			 Northumbria 0 2 
			 South Yorkshire 1 0 
			 Warwickshire 0 1 
			 West Midlands 1 0 
			 Dyfed-Powys 0 2 
			 Gwent 0 1 
			 South Wales 0 1 
			 Total 8 18 
			 (1) These data are on the principal offence basis.  (2) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete. However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police forces and courts. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used.  (3) Where a police force area has not been listed, there have been no convictions.  (4) Contravening a prohibition imposed by fireworks regulations comprises a number of different offences. These include Using adult fireworks during night hours when not exempt by 7(2), Prohibition of supply of fireworks, Prohibition of supply of certain fireworks to the general public and Prohibition of supply of excessively loud category 3 fireworks. It is however not possible to separate these offences, as data are not collected to that level of detail. 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of persons issued with penalty notices for disorder for selected firework offences, England and Wales, 2004 and 2005, and provisional data for January to June 2006( 1,2) 
			   2004  2005  January to June 2006( 2) 
			  Police force area  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew  Throwing fireworks  Breach of fireworks curfew 
			 Avon and Somerset 1 1  1 1  
			 Bedfordshire   2  2  
			 Cambridgeshire 2  2  2  
			 Cheshire 2  5
			 Cleveland 1  11 2  1 
			 Cumbria   5  2  
			 Derbyshire 3 1 4  2  
			 Devon and Cornwall 2  15 4 12  
			 Dorset   8 1 9  
			 Durham   2
			 Essex 6 1 15  6  
			 Gloucestershire  1 1 1 1 2 
			 Greater Manchester 9  44  30  
			 Hampshire 4 1 10 2 4  
			 Hertfordshire   7  4  
			 Humberside 2  5 1 1  
			 Kent 2  15 1 5  
			 Lancashire 14 2 25 2 4 1 
			 Leicestershire 2 1 1
			 Lincolnshire 5  35 4 12 1 
			 London, City of   1
			 Merseyside 26  87 2 19 1 
			 Metropolitan 25  78 1 25 1 
			 Norfolk 1  2
			 North Yorkshire 1  1  1  
			 Northamptonshire 2  7 1  1 
			 Northumbria   5  4  
			 Nottinghamshire   7  1  
			 South Yorkshire 8 1 13 1 7 1 
			 Staffordshire 6  15 1 17  
			 Suffolk 2  3  2  
			 Surrey   2
			 Sussex 9  57 5 16 2 
			 Thames Valley 3  36  6  
			 Warwickshire 3  3
			 West Mercia   9  5  
			 West Midlands 7 1 25  8  
			 West Yorkshire 18  34 1 6  
			 Wiltshire 1  2  4  
			 Dyfed-Powys 1  3  3  
			 Gwent 1 1 12  5  
			 North Wales 8 1 20 2 6  
			 South Wales   8
			 England and Wales 177 12 642 33 232 11 
			 (1) Every effort is made to ensure that the figures presented are accurate and complete However, it is important to note that these data have been extracted from large administrative data systems generated by the police. As a consequence, care should be taken to ensure data collection processes and their inevitable limitations are taken into account when those data are used. (2) Data for 2006 are from January to June only and are provisional.

Highly Skilled Migrant Visas

Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many highly skilled migrant visas have been issued in each of the last five years; to people of which nationalities they have been issued; and in which categories they have been issued.

Liam Byrne: The following table provides detail of the numbers of approvals, by country of origin of the application, issued under the Highly Skilled Migrant Programme (HSMP) for each calendar year since the programme was launched on 28 January 2002, including applications approved in the year to September 2006. These approvals allow individuals to apply for leave to enter or leave to remain in the United Kingdom as highly skilled migrants.
	These data are derived from local management information and are therefore provisional and subject to change.
	HSMP is designed to allow highly skilled individuals with exceptional skills and experience to seek to enter or stay to work in the UK, without having a prior offer of employment, or to take up self-employment opportunities here. We are therefore unable to record which category of work they enter. The table gives numbers for each year by the country of origin on the application and does not, therefore, necessarily reflect the nationality of the applicant. Applications from European countries appear where non EU nationals are resident in those countries.
	
		
			  HSMP approved applications January 2002-September 2006, by country of origin of application and calendar year( 1) 
			   2002  2003  2004  2005  2006  Total 
			 Afghanistan 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Albania 1 4 4 0 3 12 
			 Algeria 1 4 2 7 2 16 
			 American Samoa 0 0 0 2 0 2 
			 Antigua and Barbuda 0 1 1 0 0 2 
			 Argentina 17 12 11 12 8 60 
			 Armenia 1 1 8 11 6 27 
			 Australia 84 239 648 1,518 1,577 4,066 
			 Azerbaijan 1 12 9 17 11 50 
			 Bahamas 0 0 1 2 0 3 
			 Bahrain 0 2 1 1 0 4 
			 Bangladesh 14 46 114 245 239 658 
			 Barbados 2 2 7 7 15 33 
			 Belarus 2 7 11 12 7 39 
			 Belize 0 0 1 2 1 4 
			 Bolivia 0 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Bosnia and Herzegovina 0 2 0 2 1 5 
			 Botswana 0 0 1 4 0 5 
			 Brazil 6 22 28 53 78 187 
			 British National (Overseas)(2) 6 14 8 8 7 43 
			 British Overseas Citizen(3) 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Brunei 0 0 1 0 1 2 
			 Bulgaria 6 22 25 59 34 146 
			 Cambodia 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Cameroon 1 8 5 11 22 47 
			 Canada 48 89 107 178 164 586 
			 Chile 3 3 2 6 4 18 
			 China, Peoples Republic of 33 152 368 650 334 1,537 
			 Colombia 9 11 13 18 24 75 
			 Costa Rica 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Cote D'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) 0 1 0 3 0 4 
			 Croatia 0 1 0 9 9 19 
			 Cuba 0 0 1 2 0 3 
			 Curacao 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Cyprus 2 5 1 0 0 8 
			 Czech Republic 1 6 0 0 0 7 
			 Dominica 0 1 1 1 2 5 
			 Dominican Republic 0 1 0 4 2 7 
			 Ecuador 1 2 1 2 1 7 
			 Egypt 12 32 81 135 184 444 
			 El Salvador 0 1 0 0 2 3 
			 Eritrea 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Estonia 2 1 1 0 0 4 
			 Ethiopia 0 5 6 12 11 34 
			 Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia/Montenegro) until June 2006 1 16 8 7 4 42 
			 Gambia 0 3 1 1 1 6 
			 Georgia 2 4 8 8 4 26 
			 Ghana 4 23 45 70 73 215 
			 Grenada 1 0 2 0 3 6 
			 Guatemala 0 0 0 2 1 3 
			 Guinea-Bissau 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Guyana 2 2 4 5 6 19 
			 Honduras 0 1 1 0 1 3 
			 Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China 3 2 9 14 6 34 
			 Hungary 4 2 3 0 0 9 
			 Iceland 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 India 180 656 1,967 6,715 7,340 16,858 
			 Indonesia 2 5 5 15 17 44 
			 Iran 9 31 41 91 86 258 
			 Iraq 7 17 23 36 40 123 
			 Ireland 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Israel 9 45 52 69 44 219 
			 Jamaica 8 16 27 20 20 91 
			 Japan 7 23 24 38 32 124 
			 Jordan 2 6 20 26 72 126 
			 Kazakhstan 3 5 5 18 15 46 
			 Kenya 15 28 37 59 61 200 
			 Korea, North (Democratic Peoples Rep of) 0 0 0 1 2 3 
			 Korea, South (Rep of Korea) 5 8 19 20 29 81 
			 Kuwait 0 0 1 0 3 4 
			 Kyrgyzstan 0 1 3 11 4 19 
			 Latvia 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Lebanon 3 7 7 16 17 50 
			 Liberia 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Libya 1 6 16 28 66 117 
			 Lithuania 8 6 0 0 0 14 
			 Macedonia 0 1 0 2 2 5 
			 Malawi 0 1 10 15 10 36 
			 Malaysia 14 33 63 174 214 498 
			 Maldives 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Mali 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Malta 1 2 0 0 0 3 
			 Mauritania 0 3 1 1 3 8 
			 Mauritius 1 11 21 26 29 88 
			 Mexico 5 13 21 36 17 92 
			 Moldova (Rep of) 2 1 6 17 12 38 
			 Mongolia 2 1 0 4 1 8 
			 Montenegro (post June 2006) 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Morocco 3 2 3 3 0 11 
			 Mozambique 0 1 0 1 0 2 
			 Myanmar 2 7 12 38 83 142 
			 Namibia 0 2 6 8 2 18 
			 Nepal 2 16 34 111 129 292 
			 New Zealand 19 115 337 847 778 2,096 
			 Nicaragua 0 0 0 1 1 2 
			 Niger 0 1 1 4 2 8 
			 Nigeria 31 186 445 1,187 1,209 3,058 
			 Oman 0 0 1 3 1 5 
			 Pakistan 58 268 1,001 2,080 1,569 4,976 
			 Palestinian Authority 0 1 4 11 17 33 
			 Panama 1 0 0 0 1 2 
			 Papua New Guinea 0 0 0 1 0 1 
			 Paraguay 0 1 0 0 0 1 
			 Peru 3 15 9 21 15 63 
			 Philippines 4 16 16 25 32 93 
			 Poland 4 20 0 0 0 24 
			 Qatar 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Romania 7 19 27 41 37 131 
			 Russian Federation 33 97 143 279 221 773 
			 Rwanda 1 1 1 0 0 3 
			 Saudi Arabia 0 2 5 11 5 23 
			 Senegal 0 0 4 0 2 6 
			 Serbia (post June 2006) 0 0 0 0 6 6 
			 Seychelles 0 2 1 0 1 4 
			 Sierra Leone 2 4 5 5 5 21 
			 Singapore 14 26 36 48 57 181 
			 Slovakia 2 2 1 0 0 5 
			 Slovenia 2 0 0 0 0 2 
			 Solomon Islands 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 South Africa 73 344 592 860 658 2,527 
			 Sri Lanka 8 39 86 269 348 750 
			 St. Kitts and Nevis 1 1 0 0 0 2 
			 St. Lucia 1 2 2 2 3 10 
			 St. Vincent and The Grenadines 0 0 0 0 1 1 
			 Sudan 5 14 33 54 55 161 
			 Suriname 0 0 1 0 0 1 
			 Swaziland 0 1 0 1 1 3 
			 Switzerland 1 0 0 0 0 1 
			 Syria (Arab Rep) 0 2 23 60 2 87 
			 Taiwan, Territory of 2 2 9 19 21 53 
			 Tajikistan 0 0 1 1 0 2 
			 Tanzania (United Rep of) 5 8 6 9 7 35 
			 Thailand 2 2 6 4 7 21 
			 Trinidad and Tobago 2 11 23 46 74 156 
			 Tunisia 0 0 1 3 1 5 
			 Turkey 9 56 50 85 53 253 
			 Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus 0 0 0 0 2 2 
			 Turkmenistan 1 0 1 0 0 2 
			 Uganda 1 4 11 21 18 55 
			 Ukraine 8 24 57 91 88 268 
			 United Arab Emirates 1 0 1 2 0 4 
			 United States of America 271 559 456 619 509 2,414 
			 Uruguay 0 2 1 3 0 6 
			 Uzbekistan 0 2 8 15 14 39 
			 Venezuela 4 22 10 11 15 62 
			 Vietnam 0 1 1 4 3 9 
			 Yemen 0 4 0 4 2 10 
			 Zambia 9 16 19 24 19 87 
			 Zimbabwe 29 76 88 105 101 399 
			 Total 1,176 3,687 7,500 17,582 17,169 47,114 
			 (1) 2002 includes data from 28 January. 2006 includes data to 30 September. (2 )British national (overseas) is a person who applied to the Home Secretary or his overseas representative before 1 July 1997. To qualify for registration, the person applying must have been a British Dependent Territories citizen by connection with Hong Kong. (3) British overseas citizena person who, immediately before 1 January 1983, was a citizen of the United Kingdom and Colonies and did not, on that date, automatically become a British citizen or a British Dependent Territories citizen.

Human Trafficking

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his estimate is of the number of children  (a) smuggled and  (b) trafficked into the UK in each of the last three years.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 December 2006
	There are currently no estimates of the number of children that may have been smuggled or trafficked into the UK. The Home Office has commissioned the Child Exploitation On Line Protection Centre to scope the scale and nature of child trafficking into and within the UK.

Identity Fraud

Philip Dunne: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many people in  (a) the UK,  (b) Shropshire and  (c) Ludlow constituency reported being a victim of identity fraud in each of the last five years.

Joan Ryan: This information is not available centrally because there is no single offence of identity fraud.
	However, the 240 members of CIFAS, the UK's fraud prevention service for the private sector (mainly financial services companies), recorded 32,737 victims of identity fraud in 2002, 43,094 in 2003, 50,455 in 2004, 56,200 in 2005 and 51,025 for the first three quarters of 2006 (CIFAS estimate that this will rise to 68,000 for the entire year).
	In addition, identity theft and identity fraud questions were incorporated into the British crime survey in 2005 and the results should give us more information on the number of victims.

Illegal Immigrants

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of illegal immigrants from Iraq were deported in each of the last five years, broken down by religion.

Liam Byrne: The information requested is not available.

Illegal Immigrants

Ashok Kumar: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of irregular migrants working in the UK.

Liam Byrne: An estimate of irregular migrants working in the UK is not available. No Government of the UK have been able to say with accuracy how many irregular migrants are present in the country, and this is the case for any Government in the world.

Malawi Baby Adoption

Andrew MacKinlay: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what immigration policy and procedure is applicable to  (a) UK couples and  (b) couples where one partner is an EU citizen and the other has leave to remain in the UK who wish to bring into the United Kingdom a baby adopted in Malawi; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The immigration rules contain four provisions to cater for the differing circumstances of children coming to the United Kingdom for the purposes of adoption. These are set out in a leaflet which is obtainable from the IND website. Also on the website in the publicly available staff instructions, is advice to staff as to how they can exercise discretion in cases where a child is seeking limited leave to enter the United Kingdom as the subject of an interim adoption order.

Neighbourhood Crime Monitoring

Graham Allen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to roll out the Weeks of Action tackling neighbourhood crime introduced by the One Nottingham's Crime and Drug Partnership; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Crime and Disorder Reduction Partnership weeks of action carried out in Nottingham and other areas are excellent examples of joined up partnership working. They can achieve significant results for local communities in tackling crime and disorder and promoting community engagement.
	The Home Office encourages and supports partnerships across England and Wales to adopt weeks of action as one dynamic element of their broader crime and disorder strategies and action plans. A series of seminars are currently being held across the country, an effective practice guide is being developed and resources are being devoted to rolling out this approach, building on the experience and learning of community safety practitioners in Nottingham and elsewhere.

Non-violent Offenders

David Heath: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of people convicted of a non-violent offence  (a) received a custodial sentence,  (b) received a custodial sentence of less than three months and  (c) served a custodial sentence of less than three months in each of the last five years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 January 2007
	The information requested on persons receiving an immediate custodial sentence for non-violent offences is contained in the table.
	Information from the same source (the Home Office court proceedings database) does not show the time served under sentence.
	The readily available information from the prison statistical system relates to persons discharged from determinate sentences of up to and including three months for all offences and is published in Table 10.1 of 'Offender Management Caseload Statistics' (Home Office Statistical Bulletin No. 18/06) on the Home Office website at http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1806.pdf
	
		
			  Persons sentenced to immediate custody for non-violent( 1)  offences, England and Wales 
			   Persons convicted and sentenced 
			   Number  Percentage 
			  2001   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 87,709 6.8 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,669 2.1 
			
			  2002   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 91,372 6.7 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 28,098 2.1 
			
			  2003   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 88,547 6.2 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,975 1.9 
			
			  2004   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 86,144 5.8 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,654 1.8 
			
			  2005   
			 Immediate custodial sentences of all lengths 81,286 5.7 
			  Of which:   
			 Less than 3 months 26,665 1.9 
			 (1) Indictable and summary offences but excluding violence against the person, sexual offences and robbery.  Note: Although care is taken in collating and analysing the returns used to compile these figures, the data are of necessity subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large-scale recording system. Consequently, although figures are shown to the last digit in order to provide a comprehensive record of the information collected, they are not necessarily accurate to the last digit shown.  Source: RDS-NOMS, Home Office.

Offender Management Bill

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research was  (a) commissioned and  (b) evaluated by his Department in developing the business case that underpins the changes outlined in the Offender Management Bill.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Lord Carter conducted an extensive review of the correctional services in England and Wales. The review found considerable progress in the management of offenders but also found an urgent need for the different parts of the criminal justice system to work closer together, in particular the prison and probation services.
	In his December 2003 reportManaging Offenders, Reducing Crimehe made a number of recommendations including that more effective service delivery could be achieved through greater use of competition from private and voluntary providers, and through a separation of the line-management of public sector providers and the commissioning of services.
	Since the Government accepted the findings of Lord Carter in January 2004, we have continued to consult with stakeholders, both formally and informally, in developing the policy and this process continues as the Offender Management Bill goes through Parliament.

Offender Management Bill

Mark Pritchard: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to give local probation trusts commissioning powers under the new Offender Management Bill.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Offender Management Bill gives to the Secretary of State the statutory duty to make arrangements to provide probation services, so enabling him to commission services from providers in the public, charitable, voluntary and private sectors. The Bill also establishes probation trusts, as the public sector providers with whom he may make such arrangements.
	It is not envisaged that the Secretary of State will hold all contracts directly. The Bill also provides for probation trusts and other providers to enter into sub-contracts for services. This will be a key means of ensuring partnership working and the proper involvement of providers at the local level; potential providers will be expected to demonstrate these links when submitting bids.
	NOMS commissioning processes, while upholding the principle of fair competition, will seek to reduce barriers to further partnership working and encouraging new providers, by minimising the overall cost and complexity of tendering, using fit for purpose pre-qualification regimes that are proportionate to the likely contract value, term and risk; and streamlining monitoring, regulatory and reporting requirements.

Operation Pentameter

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the outcomes of Operation Pentameter; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: The Home Office's Research, Development and Statistics Directorate is in the process of assessing Operation Pentameter, both to ensure that operational lessons are learned and to examine any lessons from the operation on the nature and scale of trafficking for sexual exploitation in the UK.

People Trafficking

Louise Ellman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent representations he has received on people trafficking; and if he will make a statement.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 18 January 2007
	The Home Office is currently working on an action plan on human trafficking to be published in the next few months. This process requires consultation with a number of stakeholders and agencies on a regular basis covering a wide range of trafficking issues from prevention to the support and protection of victims.

Police

Frank Field: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the Department has received any request from the Metropolitan police for extra resources for the inquiry into the alleged sale of honours.

Tony McNulty: holding answer 19 December 2006
	We have not received any request from the Metropolitan Police. We would expect the resources to be met within the Metropolitan Police Authority budget of 2.4 billion in 2006-07.

Police

Nicholas Clegg: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers are expected to become eligible for retirement in each of the next 10 years.

John Reid: The information requested is not held centrally as the arrangements for retiring from service as a police officer are a matter for individual police authorities. However, the Government Actuary's Department estimates that in each of the next 10 years around 4,000 police officers in England and Wales will become eligible for retirement with either an ordinary pension after 25 years' service or a short-service pension which is payable to officers with less than 25 years' service from age 55 upwards depending on their rank and force. For comparison, wastage rates in the official Police Service Strength publication indicate that the number of leavers in the four years up to March 2006 ranged between approximately 5,500 and 7,000 a year, which includes those leaving before reaching retirement age and those retiring early on grounds of ill health.

Police

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much was spent by the Sussex constabulary under the budget headings  (a) non- incident linked paperwork,  (b) checking paperwork (supervisory),  (c) robberies,  (d) house burglaries and  (e) violent crime identified by the activity bases costing review for 2004-05.

Tony McNulty: The information supplied to the Home Office for the 2004-05 activity based costing review did not include cost data for non-incident linked paperwork and checking paperwork.
	The other information requested is as follows:
	Robberies2.40 million
	House burglaries (domestic burglaries)7.98 million
	Violent crime (all violence)20.69 million
	Figures taken from Sussex ABC return of 2004-05.

Police Cells

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police cells in Wales are being used to hold prisoners; and in which police stations.

Tony McNulty: The number of prisoners held in police cells in Wales varies on a daily basis and is dependent on the management of regional prison population pressures. Police cells at Wrexham (north Wales police force), Aberdare, Llanishen, Port Talbot (south Wales police force) and Haverford West (Dyfed Powys police force) have been used.

Police Stations

Peter Bone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the Government's policy is on access to police stations by members of the public.

Tony McNulty: The use and deployment of resources, including police officers and police stations, are ultimately the responsibility of the local chief constable who is responsible for the day-to-day operational management of the force.
	The citizen focus programme of work encourages all forces to look at the most effective ways of engaging with their local communities and responding to their needs by making contact easier and more accessible.
	The Citizen Focus Good Practice Guide, which was produced by the Home Office, encourages forces to invest time and resources into improving the service provided at the police station front-counter and through other public contact points, such as call centres and websites.
	As part of the Police Performance Assessment Framework (PPAF), User Satisfaction surveys measure the percentage of users satisfied with the ease of contacting the police, highlighting to forces that they need to ensure that the public can access their services in different ways.
	The Disability Discrimination Act 1995 imposes a duty on all public services, including police authorities and forces, to ensure their services are accessible to disabled persons, both in terms of physical premises and also general service provisions.

Poppy Project

Anthony Steen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department from which countries the 70 children refused by the Poppy Project in the last 12 months come; how old each child was; in which local authority areas they are residing; and how many have been deported.

Vernon Coaker: holding answer 19 December 2006
	The Poppy project accepts only adult female victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Project informs me it received 46 referrals of victims between the ages of 15 and 17 since it opened in March 2003 until December 2006. I understand the project has not retained any additional information on these referrals. It is therefore not possible to provide any information on the immigration status of these young women.
	It would be the duty of any local authority receiving a referral to assess that child's need for accommodation and support under section 20 of the Children Act 1989.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-misusing prisoners were assessed as having rehabilitation needs in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The information is not recorded in the way requested. Instead prisons rely on epidemiological data which show that, on average, approximately 55 per cent. of prisoners report a serious drug problem prior to prison, with 80 per cent. reporting some prior misuse. A research study showed that only 15 per cent. of users were categorised as having no immediate treatment need.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many drug-misusing prisoners were provided with rehabilitation in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The following table shows the numbers of prisoners with a drug problem who engage subsequently with prison drug treatment services in the years for which the information is available.
	
		
			  Intensive programme entrants 
			   Clinical Services includes maintenance, detoxification and alcohol detoxification  CARATs counselling assessment, referral, advice and throughcare service initial assessments  Intensive programme entrants 
			 2001-02 41,765 39,338 4,691 
			 2002-03 50,701 51,966 4,386 
			 2003-04 57,891 54,125 4,703 
			 2004-05 53,903 59,025 7,621 
			 2005-06 53,323 (1)74,588 10,743 
			 (1) Includes 8,709 by YPSMS Young People's Substance Misuse Service for under-18s   Notes:  1. Individual prisoners may engage in more than one form of treatment.  2. Includes maintenance, detoxification and alcohol detoxification.  3. Counselling, assessment, referral, advice and throughcare service.  4. Young peoples' substance misuse service for under-18s.

Prison Service

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will take steps to ensure that there is no financial disincentive to prisoners for taking educational courses in prison; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Education is delivered in prisons in a variety of ways. Governors can and do establish systems of bonus payments to recognise and reward achievements in education when obtaining nationally recognised qualifications or reaching challenging sentence plan targets.
	The policy on prisoners' wages is contained in Prison Service Order 4460 which sets out national minimum levels of pay and requires prison governors to establish local pay schemes that provide an incentive for prisoners to achieve sentence plan targets, which may include attending education and offending behaviour courses.

Prison Service

David Burrowes: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he takes to ensure that prisoners do not receive benefits while in custody.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Prison Service provide Department of Work and Pensions with weekly details of new prisoners so that they can review benefits claimed by the prisoner and stop them where appropriate.
	Jobcentre Plus advisers also help in closing down benefit claims such as income support and jobseeker's allowance.

Prisons

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) male and  (b) female prisoners were convicted for drugs offences in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the numbers of  (a) male and  (b) female prisoners received into prison establishments in England and Wales in each year since 1995 on immediate custodial sentences for drugs offences can be found within the following table taken from table 7.2 of the recently published Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005 which can be accessed at the following website:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1806.pdf
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems.
	Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Receptions into prison establishments in England and Wales on immediate custodial sentence for drugs offences, 1995-2005(based on table 7.2 in Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005) 
			   Male  Female  Total 
			 1995 4,325 404 4,729 
			 1996 5,525 575 6,100 
			 1997 6,324 750 7,074 
			 1998 6,569 831 7,400 
			 1999 6,747 929 7,676 
			 2000 6,303 906 7,209 
			 2001 6,513 1,009 7,522 
			 2002 6,288 988 7,276 
			 2003 6,169 966 7,135 
			 2004 6,231 922 7,153 
			 2005 6,216 844 7,060

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) men and  (b) women from Wales are detained in prisons in England.

Gerry Sutcliffe: On 30 September 2006, the latest date information is available, 1,411 male prisoners and 183 women prisoners from Wales were held in prisons in England.

Prisons

Cheryl Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many  (a) men and  (b) women were being held in prisons in Wales on 12 December 2006.

Gerry Sutcliffe: There were  (a) 2,654 men and  (b) no women held in prisons in Wales on 30 November 2006, the latest date for which figures are available. This information is available in Table 4 of the Population in Custody Monthly Tables November 2006 England and Wales on the website at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs07/prisnov06.pdf
	These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.

Prisons

Shailesh Vara: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to the answer of 5 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 292-3W, on prisons, how many inmates who  (a) self-harmed and  (b) committed suicide (i) had previously been identified as suffering from mental illness and (ii) were subsequently identified as suffering from mental illness in each year since 1997.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Information about mental illness among prisoners is not collated centrally in the requested format and could be obtained only at a disproportionate cost.

Probation Service

John McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the projected balance of spending is in the London Probation Area budget for 2006-07; and what consequences are expected for service delivery.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The London Probation Board's budget for 2006-07 is 137.5 million. The board is currently forecasting an overspending of 3.5 million (2.5 per cent.) against this budget. The overspending is not causing any detrimental impact on service delivery.

Probation Service

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what performance indicators his Department uses to measure the performance of the probation service; and what assessment he has made of recent trends in the probation service's performance.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The national probation service has been set performance targets that cover the key objectives of protecting the public and reducing re-offending while reflecting the priority given to work with offenders on matters such as accommodation; education, training and employment; health and drugs and alcohol, as well as addressing the needs of victims.
	Details of the performance of the 42 probation areas in England and Wales against the performance targets and measures set for the service are published on a quarterly basis in national probation service performance reports. The reports are public documents and are posted on the NPS website at:
	http://www.probation.homeoffice.gov.uk/output/page34.asp.
	The latest report (22) shows that the national probation service had met or exceeded nine of the 13 performance targets for the first six months of 2006-07. (Data on the regionally set employment targets for minority ethnic staff will not be available until the new year when the census returns are made. This target has been met in each of the previous years since monitoring began and it is envisaged that it will be met again this year.)

Sentences

Laurence Robertson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department 
	(1)  what the average time spent in prison was for those convicted of burglary in each of the last 10 years;
	(2)  what the average time spent in prison was by those convicted of violence against the person in each of the last 10 years.

Gerry Sutcliffe: Information on the length of sentences for prisoners received into prison establishments in England and Wales during 2005 for offences of violence against the person and burglary are in the following table. This table is published as table 7.3 within the Offender Management Caseload Statistics 2005, a copy of which can be found in the House of Commons Library. Information on the average time served, by sentence length, is shown in table 10.1 of the same publication.
	Equivalent tables for 2004 (table 7.3, 10.1) can be found at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs05/hosb1705section7.xls
	and for 2003 (table 7.3, 10.1) at:
	http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs04/hosb1504section7.xls
	Information for the earlier years can be found in the annual publication Prison Statistics, England and Wales (tables 4.6 and 4.11 for 2002) which are also available in the House of Commons Library.
	The figures referred to have been drawn from administrative IT systems. Although care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and although shown to the last individual the figures may not be accurate to that level.
	
		
			  Table 7.3: Immediate custodial sentenced receptions into prison establishments( 1 ) by offence group, sentence length and sex, 2005England and Wales 
			  Number of persons 
			   All  Less than or equal to 6 months  Greater than 6 months less than 12 months  12 months to less than 4 years  4 years or more (excluding indeterminate sentences)  Indeterminate sentences 
			 Males and females 90,414 51,817 7,983 22,640 6,927 1,047 
			 Violence against the person 16,744 8,965 1,383 4,510 1,332 554 
			 Sexual offences 2,452 292 125 995 926 114 
			 Robbery 3,894 634 199 2,066 810 185 
			 Burglary 7,550 2,518 747 3,635 611 39 
			 Theft and handling 17,880 13,583 1,805 2,241 223 28 
			 Fraud and forgery 4,062 1,541 797 1,553 169 2 
			 Drug offences 7,060 1,246 361 3,260 2,188 5 
			 Motoring offences 12,326 10,765 670 820 62 9 
			 Other offences 17,498 11,788 1,737 3,296 567 110 
			 Offence not recorded 948 485 159 264 39 1 
			
			 Males 82,390 46,650 7,231 21,008 6,507 994 
			 Violence against the person 15,630 8,260 1,294 4,282 1,271 523 
			 Sexual offences 2,433 288 123 986 922 114 
			 Robbery 3,644 594 187 1,898 790 175 
			 Burglary 7,254 2,415 709 3,506 585 39 
			 Theft and handling 15,353 11,495 1,571 2,046 214 27 
			 Fraud and forgery 3,257 1,178 605 1,315 157 2 
			 Drug offences 6,216 1,091 329 2,855 1,936 5 
			 Motoring offences 11,959 10,428 650 810 62 9 
			 Other offences 15,758 10,450 1,611 3,065 533 99 
			 Offence not recorded 886 451 152 245 37 1 
			
			 Females 8,024 5,167 752 1,632 420 53 
			 Violence against the person 1,114 705 89 228 61 31 
			 Sexual offences 19 4 2 9 4 0 
			 Robbery 250 40 12 168 20 10 
			 Burglary 296 103 38 129 26 0 
			 Theft and handling 2,527 2,088 234 195 9 1 
			 Fraud and forgery 805 363 192 238 12 0 
			 Drug offences 844 155 32 405 252 0 
			 Motoring offences 367 337 20 10 0 0 
			 Other offences 1,740 1,338 126 231 34 11 
			 Offence not recorded 62 34 7 19 2 0 
			 (1) Excludes police cells.  Note: Care is taken when processing and analysing the returns, but the detail collected is subject to the inaccuracies inherent in any large scale recording system, and so although shown to the last individual, the figures may not be accurate to that level. See technical appendix of report for fuller information.  Sources: These figures have been drawn from administrative IT systems.

Sentencing Policy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what steps he is taking to promote the exchange of views on sentencing policy between his Department and the Crown Prosecution Service.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The exchanges of views between the Home Office and other agencies, including the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), on criminal justice issues such as sentencing policy, is promoted through the National Criminal Justice Board and other formal and informal meetings between Ministers and officials. The Government's consultation, Making Sentencing Clearer was issued jointly by the Home Secretary, Lord Chancellor and the Attorney General, the Minister responsible for the CPS.

Sentencing Policy

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how his Department plans to implement the proposed sentencing reforms set out in the report Making Sentencing Clearer; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The consultation document Making Sentencing Clearer was published on 9 November 2006 with the consultation period closing on 9 January 2007. The responses to the consultation are currently being assessed and will inform how the proposals will be implemented.

Sentencing Policy

Humfrey Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether  (a) magistrates courts and  (b) Crown courts may issue stand alone sentences of suspended prison sentences; and if he will make a statement.

Gerry Sutcliffe: The Criminal Justice Act 2003 introduced a new suspended sentencethe suspended sentence order (SSO). The SSO is available for offences committed on or after 4 April 2005. It is more flexible than the previous suspended sentence and available to the courts in all cases as an alternative to an immediate custodial sentence.
	The SSO is more demanding than the previous suspended sentence; it allows the court to impose community requirements together with a suspended custodial sentence of up to 12 months (six months in the magistrates court) which is activated if the offender breaches the community period.
	The SSO is available to both the magistrates and the Crown courts as a stand alone sentence.

Translation Services

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for what services provided by his Department and its related agencies translation services are provided.

Liam Byrne: The Department does not maintain a central list of services for which it offers translation services. Translation services may be providedaccording to operational needwithin any service operated by the Department and its Executive agencies. This includes services across the Immigration and Nationality Directorate, the National Offender Management Service, HM Prison Service and the Criminal Records Bureau.

Victim Support

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the causes are of the delay in publishing the report A systematic Review of the Evidence Relating to the Provision of Support for Victims and Witnesses of Crime by Dr. Gillian Mezey commissioned in April 2004; and when he expects it to be published.

Gerry Sutcliffe: holding answer 16 January 2007
	A literature review What Works Best in Supporting Victims and Witnesses of Crime: A literature review (Mezey, Fiander, Robbins, Cowie, Bartlett, Papadakis and Martin, 2007) has recently been completed. The date of completion of the report reflects the work that has been involved in finalising the research report, and in quality assuring its contents.

War Criminals

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures are in place to detect suspected war criminals from the Second World War attempting to enter the United Kingdom; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The UK has powers to refuse leave to enter the UK or to refuse a visa to someone on the grounds that their presence here would not be conducive to the public good for reasons of their character, conduct or associations. This would include those who were suspected of having committed war crimes. The Immigration and Nationality Directorate operates a watch list at ports of entry and visa issuing posts to support the entry control. This list contains the names of those people who are known to the Immigration and Nationality Directorate and whose presence in the UK would not be conducive to the public good. People who are named on the list would not be given leave to enter or issued a visa without further enquiries being made.

War Criminals

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what consideration has been given to the removal of  (a) nationality and  (b) residency rights of individuals suspected of involvement in war crimes in the Second World War; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: The UK has a policy of no safe haven for individuals suspected of involvement in war crimes or crimes against humanity and in recent years we have strengthened the powers to remove nationality or leave to remain from such individuals.
	The power has long existed to deprive a registered or naturalised British citizen of their citizenship if that status was obtained by fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact. The Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Act 2006 introduced a power to deprive a person of citizenship if the Secretary of State is satisfied that deprivation would be conducive to the public good. In addition, the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 contains a power enabling indefinite leave to remain to be revoked in cases where that status was obtained by deception and the person cannot be removed for legal or practical reasons. Residency rights may also be curtailed by means of deportation.
	These powers can and will be applied to those people suspected of being former Nazi war criminals provided that there is sufficient evidence to support their use.

War Criminals

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why convicted Hungarian war criminal Sandor Kepiro was allowed to enter and leave the United Kingdom in 2003; and if he will make a statement.

Liam Byrne: I am unable to comment on individual immigration cases.

PRIME MINISTER

Carbon Offsetting

Chris Grayling: To ask the Prime Minister how much he has spent on carbon offsetting for air travel in the past 12 months.

Tony Blair: For these purposes, my Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office (Hilary Armstrong) to the hon. Member for St. Albans (Anne Main) today.

Defence Contracts

Dai Davies: To ask the Prime Minister what recent representations he has received in respect of the decision of the Serious Fraud Office to halt its investigation into United Kingdom military equipment sales to Saudi Arabia.

Tony Blair: Since December my Office has received approximately 25 postal representations and an e-petition about this issue.

Ministerial Travel

John Redwood: To ask the Prime Minister how many miles he flew at public expense in each year since 1997.

Tony Blair: The information requested is not held. However, since 1999 the Government have published an annual list of all visits overseas undertaken by Cabinet Ministers costing 500 or more during each financial year. Copies of these lists are available in the Library of the House. Information on the number of officials accompanying Ministers on overseas visits is included in the list.
	All Ministers' travel arrangements are in accordance with the arrangements for official travel set out in chapter 10 of the Ministerial Code, and the accompanying guidance document, Travel by Ministers.

MINISTER FOR WOMEN

Equality Legislation

David Taylor: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what impact  (a) existing and  (b) forthcoming equality legislation (i) has had and (ii) will have on the status of female members of private golf clubs; and if she will make a statement.

Meg Munn: Private members clubs, such as private golf clubs, are not covered by the Sex Discrimination Act 1975. In 1989 the Government asked private clubs which have both men and women members to take voluntary action to abolish any discriminatory practices. We made it clear that we did not rule out the need for legislative action. Some clubs have taken steps to remove inequalities, but there is evidence that some mixed-sex private clubs still discriminate on the grounds of sex, almost exclusively to the disadvantage of women.
	Excluding women from full membership rights in private clubs such as golf clubs is basically unfair and it can involve demeaning and humiliating treatment. It can also prevent women from fulfilling their potential contribution to a club. We consider that it is no longer acceptable for organisations that admit both men and women as members or guests to discriminate against some members or guests, simply because of their gender. The Government's Discrimination Law Review is therefore considering how to address sex discrimination in private members clubs, including private sports clubs, that have members of both sexes.

House of Commons: Equality of Representation

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what steps she is taking to promote equality of representation between men and women in the House of Commons.

Meg Munn: In 2002 we introduced the Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act allowing positive measures towards women's increased participation. This legislation is having an impact and the numbers are rising particularly in the parties that made use of these measures.
	The Labour party was able to increase the percentage of women MPs in the last general election by using all-women shortlists to select candidates in seats held by Labour MPs who were retiring.
	By contrast the Liberal Democrat party and the Conservative party respectively selected only 32 per cent. and 12 per cent. of women candidates for their 50 most winnable seats.
	Overall, 20 per cent. of MPs are now women compared with 9 per cent. before 1997. Nearly 27.4 per cent. of Labour MPs are now women, while 8.6 per cent. of Conservative MPs and 14.3 per cent. of Liberal Democrat MPs are women.

State Pension: Women

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Minister for Women and Equality what percentage of women of state retirement age she expects to be receiving a full basic state pension by 2010.

Meg Munn: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Around 50 per cent. of women of pensionable age in 2010 are projected to be entitled to a full basic state pension.
	The Pensions Bill, published last November, will reduce the state gender pensions gap and accelerate improvements in women's state pension outcome. This will be achieved through measures including reducing the number of qualifying years needed for a full basic state pension and giving greater recognition to carers.
	Women's state pensions coverage will improve significantly as a result of reformaround three quarters of women reaching state pension age in 2010 are estimated to be entitled to a full basic state pension.

NORTHERN IRELAND

Advertising

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent on advertising in  The Guardian newspaper, including online, advertorials and advertising features, in the latest year for which figures are available.

Peter Hain: The Northern Ireland Office spent 8,651.76 on advertising in  The Guardian newspaper during 2005-06 which is the latest year for which figures are available.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland whether people employed  (a) through employment agencies and  (b) on a consultancy basis are included in the calculations for the full-time equivalent staff mentioned in his Department's annual report.

Paul Goggins: The Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency prepare the figures on behalf of the Northern Ireland Office for its annual report. These figures are taken from information available on the Human Resource Management System.
	The full-time equivalent staff mentioned in the Northern Ireland Office annual report does not include people employed  (a) through employment agencies or  (b) on a consultancy basis.

Departmental Travel

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what his Department's expenditure was on foreign travel, including accommodation, in  (a) 1996-97 and  (b) 2005-06.

Peter Hain: The expenditure on foreign air travel for officials in the Northern Ireland Office in 2005-06 was 159,544.76. Information is not held for the year 1996-97.
	Accommodation for overseas trips is arranged by The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and information about this is not held centrally within the Northern Ireland Office. The cost of accommodation could therefore be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Digital Switchover

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what estimate he has made of the percentage of homes in Northern Ireland which have switched to digital television in the last 12 months.

Peter Hain: Estimated take-up of digital TV in Northern Ireland was, in April 2006, 53 per cent. (Ofcom research report: The Communications Market, Nations and Regions, April 2006). In the same report, nationwide take-up was 65 per cent.
	Since the 53 per cent. Northern Ireland figure was obtained, uptake across the UK has risen to 73.3 per cent. (Ofcom Digital Progress Report, Digital TVQ3 2006, published December 2006). Although there are no more recent figures for Northern Ireland, it is likely that uptake there will have increased proportionally.

East-west Relationships

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what steps his Department has taken since suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2002 to promote the East-West relationships which exist between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom.

David Hanson: The Northern Ireland Administration has historically enjoyed very close links, at both ministerial and official level, with the Administrations in the rest of the United Kingdom. That position has not been affected by the suspension of the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Government have continued to promote inter-administration relationships on an East-West axis on matters of mutual interest.
	The British Government have also continued fully to support all of the agreed work areas being progressed by the British-Irish Council (BIC), in their role to promote co-operation on matters of mutual interest within the competence of the relevant Administrations.

Mid-Ulster Hospital

Mark Durkan: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many hospital beds were available for use at the Mid-Ulster hospital, Magherafelt in each year since 2003-04.

Paul Goggins: Information on the number of available in-patient beds in Mid-Ulster hospital, Magherafelt for the years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005-06 is shown in the following table. Average available beds are defined as the average number of beds available during the quarter in wards that are open overnight, measured at midnight. The hospital may also have a number of beds in wards which are only open during the day. Beds reserved for day case admission or regular day admission are not included.
	
		
			   Average available beds 
			 2003-04 177.0 
			 2004-05 178.3 
			 2005-06 187.7 
			  Source: Departmental Information Return KH03 A

Northern Ireland Prison Service

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland why the Northern Ireland Prison Service did not inform Judge Peter Cory of the prior destruction of a large number of files that may have been relevant to his inquiry.

Paul Goggins: These matters are presently before a Public Inquiry and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

Northern Ireland Water Limited

Alasdair McDonnell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what change in operating costs he expects for Northern Ireland Water Limited as a result of the draft Street Works (Amendment) Order over the next five years.

David Cairns: The Chief Executive of Water Service (Mrs. Katharine Bryan) has written to the hon. Gentleman in response to this question.
	 Letter from Katharine Bryan, dated 23 January 2007:
	You recently asked the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland a Parliamentary Question about what change in operating costs he expects for Northern Ireland Water Limited as a result of the Draft Street Works (Amendment) Order over the next five years (110849). I have been asked to reply as this issue falls within my responsibility as Chief Executive of Water Service.
	Proposed legislation has not yet been introduced and therefore implications of such cannot be fully determined at this time. However, a provisional high level cost estimate developed within Water Service in 2005, determined a cost of approximately 16 million per annum. The greater proportion of the costs, 94 per cent., is attributable to engineering costs towards the requirement for full/half carriageway reinstatement and lane rental. The remainder of the costs included an allowance for permits, direction making powers, programme overrun penalties and administration.
	I trust you find this satisfactory.

Parliamentary Questions

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many parliamentary questions were tabled to his Department in 2006, broken down by  (a) ordinary written and  (b) named day; what percentage of ordinary written questions were answered within 10 working days; and what percentage of named day questions were answered by the specified date.

Peter Hain: The information requested is not readily available as it would require a trawl of manual records to provide it.
	The Northern Ireland Office received 5,031 parliamentary questions in 2006. From 1 January until the beginning of the summer recess my Department answered approximately 60 per cent. on time. My Department endeavours to answer ordinary written questions within a working week of tabling, named day questions on the date specified and House of Lords written questions within 14 days.
	This month, however, a number of improvements have been made to my Department's procedures for handling parliamentary questions. This includes improvements to the existing electronic system for tracking parliamentary questions which should allow for the provision of statistical data in due course.

Planning Development

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will revise Planning Policy Statement 14 in Northern Ireland to allow limited planning development.

David Cairns: While draft PPS 14 seeks to bring under control a growing trend for single dwellings in the open countryside it does also contain policies that allow development in certain circumstances. These include policies for dwellings for retiring farmers, small groups of social housing, dwellings for farm workers when a need has been identified, replacement dwellings, agricultural and forestry development and farm diversification.

Racially Motivated Assaults

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how many racially motivated assaults  (a) were reported and  (b) resulted in a case being brought before the courts in each parliamentary constituency in Northern Ireland in the last 12 months.

Paul Goggins: I have been advised by the PSNI that the information requested is not collated by parliamentary constituency but is available by district command unit as outlined.
	
		
			  District command unit  Recorded  Charged/summons  Cautions (adult and juvenile) 
			 Antrim 6 0 0 
			 Ards 8 0 0 
			 East Belfast 13 4 0 
			 North Belfast 11 2 0 
			 South Belfast 36 10 2 
			 West Belfast 2 0 0 
			 Carrickfergus 5 0 1 
			 Castlereagh 8 3 0 
			 Larne 4 0 0 
			 Lisburn 19 7 0 
			 Newtownabbey 8 0 0 
			 North Down 6 0 0 
			 Armagh 4 1 0 
			 Ballymena 9 0 0 
			 Ballymoney 3 0 0 
			 Banbridge 2 0 0 
			 Coleraine 5 0 0 
			 Cookstown 6 0 1 
			 Craigavon 23 5 0 
			 Down 6 1 1 
			 Dungannon and South Tyrone 19 3 1 
			 Fermanagh 3 0 0 
			 Foyle 8 1 0 
			 Limavady 1 1 0 
			 Magherafelt 8 4 0 
			 Moyle 0 0 0 
			 Newry and Mourne 13 0 1 
			 Omagh 9 0 0 
			 Strabane 0 0 0 
			 Northern Ireland 245 42 7 
			  Notes: 1. Please note that these figures are provisional and may be subject to revision. 2. Assault includes assault occasioning actual bodily harm, grievous bodily harm, wounding, grievous bodily harm with intent, wounding with intent, aggravated assault, common assault and assault on police.  Source: Central Statistics Unit, PSNI

Royal Mail

Michael Weir: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland how much his Department spent using Royal Mail in each of the last five years.

Peter Hain: The following table contains the amounts paid to the Royal Mail by the Northern Ireland Office, excluding its Agencies and NDPBs, in each of the last five years.
	
		
			   Amounts paid to Royal Mail () 
			 2001-02 77,630 
			 2002-03 126,648 
			 2003-04 243,207 
			 2004-05 117,903 
			 2005-06 312,863 
		
	
	This is due to the introduction of the Electoral Fraud (Northern Ireland) Act, which came into effect in 2002. The introduction of the Act has resulted in the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) having to register individual voters on a yearly basis. This has led to a subsequent increase in freepost charges for the Department as the EONI is treated as part of NIO Core for accounting purposes.

St. Columb's Park Masterplan

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the total cost was to public funds of the public launch of the St. Columb's Park Masterplan on 4 October 2006 in Londonderry.

David Hanson: On 5 October 2006 a joint launch was held for 3 Regeneration Master Plans prepared by the Department for Social Development (DSD) for Clooney, Ilex for Ebrington and Derry city council for St. Columb's Park respectively. The costs for the public launch event were 16,281.51. These were shared equally by DSD, Ilex and Derry city council. Some additional costs were incurred in the printing and distribution of the consultation document. These were also shared equally.

Syringomyelia

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what progress is being made in treating patients in Northern Ireland with syringomyelia.

Paul Goggins: Patients with syringomyelia in Northern Ireland are treated at the neurosurgical unit in the Royal Victoria hospital. Treatment may include a surgical decompression procedure and/or drainage with a shunt. Research is continuing into the causes of the condition and possible means of preventing its occurrence.

Voter Registration

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what percentage of pensioners in each Northern Ireland constituency are not registered to vote; and what research has been undertaken by his Department on the effect of access to national insurance numbers on registration levels.

David Hanson: The following table shows the number of over 65s registered to vote in 2006. We are unable to translate these figures into percentages as up to date population figures for 2006 are not available for this age group.
	
		
			  Constituency  Number of over 65s registered (2006) 
			 Belfast East 12,881 
			 Belfast North 11,872 
			 Belfast South 11,080 
			 Belfast West 9,140 
			 East Antrim 11,649 
			 East Londonderry 11,399 
			 Fermanagh and South Tyrone 12,367 
			 Foyle 10,100 
			 Lagan Valley 13,733 
			 Mid-Ulster 10,021 
			 North Antrim 14,963 
			 North Down 13,486 
			 Newry and Armagh 12,125 
			 South Antrim 12,178 
			 South Down 12,959 
			 Strangford 13,523 
			 Upper Bann 13,174 
			 West Tyrone 10,100 
		
	
	The Government have not carried out any specific research into the effect of access to national insurance numbers on registration levels. However, the Electoral Commission completed a detailed assessment of the implementation and impact of individual registration in Northern Ireland in December 2003. The report was entitled The Electoral Fraud Act (Northern Ireland) 2002. The Commission also monitors the impact of the Act on electoral registration and regularly publishes updates on various aspects of the registration process.

Work Force Diversity

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland if he will require the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland to take steps on recruitment of staff from under-represented minorities in the work force employed by local councils in Northern Ireland.

David Hanson: Under the Fair Employment and Treatment (NI) Order 1998 all registered employers have a duty to monitor the community composition of their work force and to conduct reviews of their employment practices and compositions.
	The Equality Commission works with all local councils with regard to these statutory provisions. Where under-representation on community composition is identified appropriate affirmative action measures are considered and implemented by councils.
	The Commission also works with employers in relation to other equality grounds where there is no equivalent statutory duty, in order to promote good practice equality monitoring to identify any under-representation so that appropriate positive action measures may be taken.

Work Force Diversity

Gregory Campbell: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what the composition was of the monitored full-time workforce of companies employing 11 or more people in  (a) 1995 and  (b) 2005, broken down by religious designation.

David Hanson: The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has provided the following information in relation to the composition of the monitored Northern Ireland full-time work force:
	 (a) Composition of the monitored private sector work force (employing 11 or more people) in 1995.
	
		
			  Table 1: Composition of Monitored Private Sector Full-time Employees by Sex 
			   Protestant  Roman Catholic  Non-determined  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Male 86,941 61.0 50,718 35.6 4,975 3.5 142,634 56.9 
			   63.2  36.8 
			  
			 Female 63,646 59.0 41,360 38.3 2,958 2.7 107,964 43.1 
			   60.6  39.4 
			  
			 Total 150,587 60.1 92,078 36.7 7,933 3.2 250,598 100.00 
			   62.1  37.9 
			  Source: Monitoring Report No. 6, Fair Employment Commission, April 1996. 
		
	
	 (b) Composition of the monitored private sector work force (employing 11 or more people) in 2005.
	
		
			  Table 1: Composition of Monitored Private Sector Full-time Employees by Sex 
			   Protestant  Roman Catholic  Non-determined  Total 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 Male 87,779 55.2 60,015 37.8 11,138 7.0 158,932 59.1 
			   59.4  40.6 
			  
			 Female 58,970 53.5 44,485 40.4 6,688 6.1 110,143 40.9 
			   57.0  43.0 
			  
			 Total 146,749 54.5 104,500 38.8 17,826 6.6 269,075 100.00 
			   58.4  41.6 
			  Source: Monitoring Report No. 16, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, December 2006. 
		
	
	The information in the tables is already in the public domain, contained in the relevant Fair Employment Monitoring Reports. The Monitoring Report has been published on an annual basis since 1991.

WALES

Minimum Age

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what estimate he has made of the number of people who receive the minimum wage in  (a) Wales and  (b) Swansea, East.

Peter Hain: Official estimates indicate that 70,000 workers in Wales stood to benefit from the October 2006 uprating of the national minimum wage.
	The data for constituency level are unavailable.

Train Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent discussions he has had with train operating companies about the number of services west of Cardiff, Central on weekday evenings.

Peter Hain: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales has had discussions with the Under-Secretary of State for Transport, my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow, South (Mr. Harris), and the Assembly Government Minister for Enterprise, Innovation and Networks, and First Great Western direct to discuss rail services west of Cardiff.
	We will continue to press First Great Western for a review of their decision to curtail the 3:15 London Paddington to Swansea service and for improvement in their performance generally to more acceptable standards.

Train Services

Si�n James: To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what recent representations has he made to First Great Western about overcrowding on train services between Cardiff and West Wales.

Peter Hain: My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State for Wales and I have made representations to First Great Western on their decision to curtail the 3:15 London Paddington to Swansea service. We will continue to press these concerns with them.
	My hon. Friend the Under-Secretary of State will also be raising the monitoring of First Great Western more generally with Department of Transport ministerial colleagues.

WORK AND PENSIONS

Child Maintenance Payments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what work he has commissioned to assess the disincentive to work effect of any proposed increase in the child maintenance disregard for people claiming benefits.

James Plaskitt: We have commissioned Frontier Economics to carry out a short economic literature review. They are looking into existing UK and international literature on the impacts of an increase in child maintenance disregards on a parent with care's decisions about work and employment rates. We expect this to be published in spring 2007.
	Further analysis may be necessary in due course as we seek to learn more about the potential effects of a higher disregard on incentives to pay child maintenance, child poverty, work incentives and administrative burdens.

Child Maintenance Payments

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what discussions he has had with the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the level of benefit disregard to be applied to child maintenance cases from 2010-11 as proposed in the White Paper, A new system of child maintenance.

James Plaskitt: Ministers and officials from the Department for Work and Pensions meet regularly with their counterparts from Her Majesty's Treasury to discuss a wide range of issues of common interestincluding child support reform.
	Such meetings will continue as we assess how best to balance the potential impacts of significantly increasing the benefit disregard for maintenance income on incentives to pay child maintenance, child poverty and work incentives.

Child Poverty

Michael Meacher: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what percentage of children lived in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median income in  (a) 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available;
	(2)  what percentage of children lived in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median income in each EU15 state  (a) in 1997 and  (b) at the latest date for which figures are available.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 15 January 2007
	In 1996-97, in Great Britain, the proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of median income was 25 per cent. before housing costs and 33 per cent. after housing costs.
	The latest data available are for the year 2004-05. In this year, in Great Britain, the proportion of children living in households with less than 60 per cent. of median income was 19 per cent. before housing costs and 27 per cent. after housing costs.
	It should be noted that children here are defined as those aged under 16, or aged 16 to 18, unmarried and on a course up to and including 'A' level standard.
	There is a remarkable variety of incomes across the EU and therefore, in absolute monetary terms, relative poverty is measured using different thresholds. Purchasing power parities are currency conversion rates that equalise the purchasing power of different currencies by eliminating the differences in price levels between their countries. Using this method demonstrates that the relative poverty threshold in the UK in 2004-05, in PPPS, for households with two adults and two dependent children was 21,385. This is similar to the figure for Austria (21,382) and Germany (20,935). Looking at just the figures for the EU15, the highest threshold was in Luxembourg (34,316) and lowest in Greece (11,130).
	The following table shows the proportion of children (aged under 16) in households with less than 60 per cent. of the median national income in each EU15 state in 1997 and 2004. These figures are all before housing costs.
	It should be noted that the figures for the UK are not the same as those published in the households below average income (HBAI) series. This is because the 1997 figures utilise a different data source, the European Community household panel. The 2004 figures differ because, although they use HBAI data, these has been harmonised ex-post for maximum consistency with the comparative EU dataset.
	A trend between 1997 and 2004 cannot be derived as different data sources are used in the two years. However, the data demonstrate that whereas, in 1997, the UK had the worst child poverty rate in the EU15, now it is close to the EU average.
	
		
			  Proportion of children in household with less than 60 per cent. of median national income 
			   1997  2004 
			 EU25 average  (1)20 
			 EU15 average (1)19 (1)20 
			 Belgium 14 17 
			 Denmark (2)6 9 
			 Germany 15 (2)20 
			 Ireland 25 22 
			 Greece 18 20 
			 Spain 26 24 
			 France 16 14 
			 Italy 23 26 
			 Luxembourg 16 18 
			 Netherlands 13 (2,3)18 
			 Austria 15 15 
			 Portugal 25 23 
			 Finland 5 10 
			 Sweden (2)7 11 
			 United Kingdom 27 (2)22 
			 (1)Eurostat estimate (2 )National source harmonised ex-post for maximum consistency with comparative EU data source (3 )2003 data

Child Support Agency

Alistair Carmichael: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what estimates were made for the Henshaw Review of the proportion of parents with care whose cases are with the Child Support Agency who would  (a) transfer to the new body,  (b) establish private arrangements and  (c) have no arrangements.

James Plaskitt: holding answer 27 November 2006
	As a result of the reforms which Sir David Henshaw put forward he estimated that the number of children receiving maintenance would increase from 1.1 million to 1.7 million, with an increasing proportion of parents making private arrangements. In steady state Sir David Henshaw estimated the long run administrative savings to be in the region of 200 million, based on a caseload of between 0.8 million and 1.1 million in the new organisation. In making these estimates Sir David identified in his report the need to do further research to support the transition of cases and that there is an element of unpredictability about such transitional flows.

Child Support Agency

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases were  (a) outstanding and  (b) unprocessed in (i) Eastbourne constituency and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

James Plaskitt: The administration of the Child Support Agency is a matter for the Chief Executive. He will write to the hon. Member with the information requested.
	 Letter from Stephen Geraghty, dated 23 January 2007:
	In reply to your recent Parliamentary Question about the Child Support Agency, the Secretary of State promised a substantive reply from the Chief Executive.
	You asked the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many Child Support Agency cases were  (a) outstanding and  (b) unprocessed in (i) Eastbourne constituency and (ii) East Sussex in each year since 1997.
	The Agency begins to process new applications as soon as they are received and continues until they have been cleared. Any applications that have not yet been cleared can be regarded as outstanding. The amount of work required to achieve clearance and the elapsed time it involves varies considerably depending on, amongst other things, the circumstances of the parents and how readily they cooperate with the Agency.
	As such, the Agency holds only a negligible number of completely unprocessed cases and it is not possible to allocate these to individual constituencies.
	With regard to part  (a), the Agency can only provide the information requested for applications (both new and old scheme) operating on the new computer system (CS2). Therefore this is not representative of the overall trend and volumes of the total amount of uncleared applications at the geographical level requested. Please see the attached table.
	It should be noted that there are always applications for which the Agency cannot assign a county or a constituency, either because they had been received directly via Jobcentre Plus and had not reached the point in the process at which details on the constituency of the parent with care can be identified, or because the application is on the old computer system from which it is not possible to provide robust estimates at the geographical level requested. In September 2006, there were around 70,000 such applications.
	For future reference, it should be noted that information relating to the number of uncleared applications on the new computer system in September 2006 in each parliamentary constituency is publicly available, and can be found in Table 27 of the September 2006 Child Support Agency Quarterly Summary of Statistics, a copy of which is available in the House of Commons Library, or on the internet via the following link:
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd1/child_support/csa_quarterly_sep06.asp
	Although the total volume of uncleared applications nationally across both schemes, 247,500 in September 2006, is the lowest since comparable records began, the Agency recognises that this remains unacceptably high. The Agency therefore has a 2006/07 target to ensure that, by March 2007, the volume of new scheme uncleared applications outstanding at March 2006 is reduced by 25 per cent. and our challenge, as set down in our Operational Improvement Plan, is that the Agency should not have a backlog in this area by March 2009.
	I hope you find this answer helpful.
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in the parliamentary constituency of Eastbourne from September 2003 to September 2006 (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only) 
			  Eastbourne  Number 
			 September 2003 140 
			 September 2004 350 
			 September 2005 400 
			 September 2006 340 
		
	
	
		
			  Number of uncleared applications in East Sussex from September 2003 to September 2006 (both new and old scheme applications on the new computer system only) 
			  East Sussex  Number 
			 September 2003 560 
			 September 2004 1,410 
			 September 2005 1,600 
			 September 2006 1,420 
			 Note s: 1. According to the Office for National Statistics definition, East Sussex comprises 5 local authority areas: Eastbourne, Rother, Hastings, Lewes and Wealdon. 2. Volumes are rounded to the nearest ten.

Financial Assistance Scheme

Philip Hammond: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many calls were received by the financial assistance scheme operational unit in each quarter of the last three years; and how many calls were answered in each month since April 2006.

James Purnell: The financial assistance scheme operational unit (FASOU) opened in September 2005 and a breakdown of how many calls have been received each quarter is as follows:
	
		
			  Quarter end  Number of calls received 
			 2005  
			 September 228 
			 December 503 
			 2006  
			 March 995 
			 June 836 
			 September 1,033 
			 December 901 
			 Total 4,496 
		
	
	Since April 2006, 2,770 calls have been received and 2,755 were answered. Of these, the 15 not answered were abandoned by the caller in less than two seconds. As requested, the monthly breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			  2006  Number of calls answered  Total for each quarter 
			 April 232 832 
			 May 292  
			 June 308  
			 July 325 1026 
			 August 370  
			 September 331  
			 October 322 897 
			 November 330  
			 December 245  
			 Total 2,755 2,755

Ministerial Blog

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how much the Minister for Employment and Welfare Reform's blog has cost to administer in each month since its inception; what the budget for the blog is for 2007-08; and how many unique visitors to the blog there have been since May.

Jim Murphy: The Welfare Reform and Child Poverty blog was launched on the DWP internet site on 16 October 2006.
	Costs to develop and administer the blog were met from existing resources, and current staffing levels.
	On-going maintenance equates to half the time of one member of staff. From October to date this has cost 1,487 per month.
	At present no funding decisions have been made about the financial year 2007-08.
	Since it was launched it has attracted 1,987 unique visitors(1) resulting in 4,731 visits(2)
	(1 )Unique visitorsIndividuals who visited the site during the report period. If someone visits more than once, they are counted only the first time they visit.
	(2 )VisitsNumber of times a visitor came to the site.

Pensions

Richard Burden: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when court procedures require his Department to submit its defence papers in respect of the judicial review launched by members of the Pension Action Group; and when he expects to submit those papers.

James Purnell: The deadline for lodging our grounds for resisting the claim was 35 days from 18 October, the date when the court gave permission for the judicial review, subject to any extension agreed between the parties or by the court. We applied to the court for an extension of the time in this case and this was granted. We sent our grounds to the court on Monday 4 December.

Pensions Adviser

Janet Anderson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  whether Ms Ros Altmann has been retained as a pensions adviser to the Government;
	(2)  To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions when he will answer question 108830, on Ros Altmann, tabled by the hon. Member for Rossendale and Darwen on 7 December 2006.

James Purnell: Ms Altmann provided advice to the independent review undertaken by Mr. Paul Myners (Institutional investment in the UK; a review) published on 6 March 2001.

Provider-led Pathways

Danny Alexander: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions whether the contract for providers in provider-led pathways to work areas  (a) will be cash-limited and  (b) includes a ceiling on the number of claimants that each provider will be able to support.

Jim Murphy: holding answer 18 January 2007
	Where providers perform better than outlined in their contract, we would look to fund additional outcome payments using residual money from any under-performing providers.
	While we will expect providers to deliver work focused interviews for all those customers referred to us, providers are able to offer the pathways to work service to customers directly. It is therefore for the provider to determine how they focus their resource and how many customers they support in order to achieve the job outcome targets that will have been agreed in the contract.

Benefit Fraud

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what his latest estimate is of the monetary value of fraud and error in each of the last five years in  (a) income support,  (b) incapacity benefit,  (c) disability living allowance,  (d) jobseeker's allowance,  (e) housing benefit,  (f) pension credit,  (g) council tax benefit,  (h) basic state pension,  (i) carer's allowance and  (j) attendance allowance; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what his estimate is of the  (a) rate and  (b) cost of fraud and error for each benefit administered by his Department in each year since 1996-97; and if he will make a statement;
	(3)  what his estimate is of the fraud and error rate in  (a) percentage and  (b) cash terms in (i) attendance allowance, (ii) carer's allowance, (iii) basic state pension, (iv) bereavement benefit, (v) industrial injuries benefit, (vi) maternity allowance, (vii) severe disablement allowance, (viii) social fund, (ix) widow's benefit and (x) winter fuel payments in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement;
	(4)  what estimate he has made of the amount of overpayments made as a result of official error for each social security benefit paid by his Department in each of the last seven years; and if he will make a statement.

James Plaskitt: The Government are committed to reducing fraud and error across the benefits system.
	Our fraud strategy is set out in Reducing fraud in the benefits system: Achievements and ambitions. We will publish our error reduction strategy in the near future.
	Our strategies are working. For example, national statistics estimate that fraud and error loss in Income Support and Jobseeker's Allowance are now at their lowest everby September 2005, the percentage of expenditure overpaid had reduced by 48 per cent. compared to the 1998 baseline.
	Estimates for individual benefits, where fraud and error has been measured have been placed in the Library.
	Estimates are not available for Attendance Allowance, Industrial Injuries Benefit, Maternity Allowance, the Social Fund and Winter Fuel Payments. In calculating the estimate of overpayments across the whole benefit system for the Department's resource account it is assumed that across these benefits 2.7 per cent. of expenditure is overpaid.

COMMUNITIES AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Religious Extremism

Kitty Ussher: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what steps her Department is taking to promote interfaith forums as a means of tackling religious extremism.

Phil Woolas: My Department's overall aim in working with and across faith communities is to increase community cohesion and prevent and reduce extremism from and towards these communities. Inter- faith initiatives play a key role in tackling and isolating violent extremist activity. My Department supports the Interfaith Network which represents the collective voice of all main faith communities and helps regional and local bodies to contribute to community cohesion. In addition, 5 million has been set aside for inter-faith programmes and capacity building within faith communities during 2007. The Local Government White Paper reforms will further engage faith communities in promoting cohesion through their effective representation in local public partnerships.

Antisocial Behaviour

Shona McIsaac: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will make a statement on her Department's contribution to tackling antisocial behaviour.

Ruth Kelly: My Department has made considerable progress over the last year in delivering a range of commitments as set out in the Respect Action Plan. For example, earlier this month my right hon. Friend the Prime Minister and I announced new regulations which will give arm's length management organisations and tenant management organisations powers to apply for antisocial behaviour orders.

Barker Report

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 
	(1)  what plans she has to recommend, commission or request strategic reviews of green belt boundaries following the publication of the Barker report on land use planning;
	(2)  what plans she has to amend  (a) Planning Policy Guidance Note 2 (PPG2),  (b) Planning Policy Statement on town centres (PPS6) and  (c) regional spatial strategies in relation to the green belt in response to the Barker report on land use planning.

Yvette Cooper: Kate Barker published the final report of her independent review of land use planning in England on 5 December 2006. The Government have welcomed her report and we are currently considering her recommendations in discussion with stakeholders before setting out a response.
	The Government remain committed to promoting the vitality and viability of town centres and the town centre-first policy approach set out in PPS6.
	The Government believe that existing green belt policy has served us well and we are not convinced that substantial policy changes are needed. The planning system needs to be fit for the 21st century and able to respond to pressing needs. It must do this through real consultation with communities, and with a proper assessment of environmental impacts. The Government will consider its response to Kate Barker's review in this light.
	We will set out in a White Paper in the spring our proposals in response to Kate Barker's recommendations for improving the speed, responsiveness and efficiency of land use planning. In the meantime, the Government are interested to hear responses to the report.

Council Tax

Geraldine Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will estimate the administration costs of collecting council tax in 2006.

Phil Woolas: Net current expenditure by local authorities in England on administering council tax collection in 2005-06 was 330.2 million.
	The data are as reported by local authorities on Revenue Outturn (RO) returns for 2005-06.
	Net current expenditure is defined as gross expenditure on employees and running expenses, less income from sales, fees and charges, and other income.
	The council tax collection figures also include any costs relating to collection of arrears of council tax, pre-1990 domestic rates and community charges.

Council Tax

Richard Ottaway: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what change there has been in band D council tax since 1997-98 in  (a) the London borough of Croydon and  (b) England.

Angela Smith: Between 1997-98 and 2006-07 the band D council tax in the borough of Croydon rose by 108 per cent. The corresponding figure for England was 84 per cent.

Departmental Expenditure

Caroline Spelman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the expenditure of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister on  (a) stress audits,  (b) leadership training,  (c) life coaches,  (d) anger management training and  (e) psychologists was in 2005-06.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not held centrally and would be of disproportionate cost to produce.

Departmental Targets

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government which statistics are used to determine whether her Department's public service agreement (PSA) targets have been met, broken down by PSA target; and which of these statistics are classified as national statistics.

Angela Smith: holding answer 15 January 2007
	The Department for Communities and Local Government's public service agreements incorporate technical notes which contain information about the statistics used to monitor progress. The technical notes can be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=1122982
	A report by the independent Statistics Commission entitled PSA Targets: the Devil in the Detail, which was published on 20 March 2006, sets out for each Department's PSA targets whether the statistics used to monitor those targets are classified as national statistics. Copies of that report are available in the Library of the House and can also be accessed using the following URL:
	http://www.statscom.org.uk/C_467.aspx.

Gypsies and Travellers

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many sites in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex have been designated for Gypsies and Travellers.

Meg Munn: A list of Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities and registered social landlords in England is published by the Department for Communities and Local Government twice yearly.
	Copies of the latest publication, Gypsy and Traveller sites provided by local authorities and RSLs in England19th July 2006, have been deposited in the Library of the House. An electronic version is also available on the Department's website at
	http://www.communities.gov.uk/index.asp?id=l153575
	The publication also provides information on the number of caravans on private sites.

Local Energy Generation Schemes

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what discussions she has had with colleagues regarding the creation of local energy generation schemes.

Yvette Cooper: The Secretary of State and other Ministers in the Department are involved in ongoing discussions regarding the creation of local energy generation schemes with other Departments and stakeholders as part of the work to deliver zero carbon homes within ten years.

Local Government

Margaret Moran: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Citizen Service Partnership led by Bedfordshire county council.

Phil Woolas: The Citizen Service Partnership led by Bedfordshire county council sought to provide the citizens of Bedfordshire with access to a vast range of information and services provided by Luton and Bedfordshire, their associate partners and third parties, via a single point of contact. My Department is aware that the Serious Fraud Office is conducting an investigation into the effectiveness of the project. The Serious Fraud Office will let my Department have a report once it has completed its investigation.

Local Government Finance

Tim Farron: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government if she will meet a delegation from South Lakeland district council to discuss the local government finance settlement.

Phil Woolas: I announced our final decisions on the 2007-08 local government finance settlement on 18 January 2007. As the second year of a multi-year settlement, it had always been clear that Government did not intend to change the 2007-08 settlement from that announced in January 2006 other than in exceptional circumstances. This is in line with Government's policy on three-year settlements, as I announced to the House on 19 July 2005,  Official Report, column 60WS.
	As part of their response to the recent consultation on the 2007-08 settlement, South Lakeland district council requested an official level meeting to discuss future settlements, and arrangements for this meeting are currently going ahead.

Ministerial Travel

John Redwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many official journeys she has made by train since taking up her position.

Angela Smith: The information requested is not readily available and could not be provided without incurring disproportionate cost.
	Ministers use public transport wherever possible and practical to complete their journey taking account of security considerations.
	All ministerial travel on official business is undertaken in accordance with the rules set out in Travel by Ministers.

Ministerial Travel

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what the  (a) destination and  (b) cost to the public purse was of each foreign trip undertaken by junior Ministers in her Department and its predecessor in the 2006-07 financial year.

Angela Smith: All ministerial visits are conducted in accordance with the ministerial code and Travel by Ministers. Since 1999, the Government have published, on an annual basis, a list of overseas travel by Cabinet Ministers costing in excess of 500 and the total cost of all ministerial travel. Information for 2005-06 was published on 24 July 2006. Information for 2006-07 will be published as soon as possible after the end of the financial year in the Library of the House.

Preventing Extremism Unit

Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government to which organisations or individuals the Preventing Extremism Unit has made grants of less than 100,000 since its inception.

Phil Woolas: holding answer 22 January 2007
	Since the formation of the Preventing Extremism Unit in October 2006, the unit has made grants of less than 100,000 to:
	
		
			   Project 
			 Common Purpose Muslim Leadership Development Project 
			 The Muslim News Muslim News Awards for Excellence 
			 South Craven Community Action Craven local Forum on Extremism and Islamophobia 
			 Forward Thinking Social empowerment among Muslim youth in Britain 
			 British Muslim Forum Part payment of a grant to build BMF capacity development has been made 
		
	
	No grants have been paid to individuals.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether the plot size of a domestic dwelling's  (a) building and  (b) curtilage around the building is entered as numeric data in the Valuation Office Agency's multiple regression formulas in its automated valuation model for council tax valuations.

Phil Woolas: Yes, where the plot size is larger than average for the property concerned. But this may not prove to be value-significant in any given locality as the model records and analyses whether the market itself differentiates in any way.

Valuation Office Agency

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what property attributes and datasets the Valuation Office Agency's market comparable reporting tool licensed from Rightmove holds.

Phil Woolas: Market Comparable Reporting Tool is the name given by Rightmove.co.uk plc to its database of properties that were advertised for sale on the Rightmove website. The Valuation Office Agency has access to this information, which for each property was freely available publicly for the period during which it was being marketed.

DUCHY OF LANCASTER

Carbon Emissions

Anne Main: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster when the Prime Minister's Office began to measure its carbon emissions; what the volume of those emissions was in the last period for which figures are available; when the Office started to offset those emissions; what the cost is expected to be of offsetting the Office's emissions; and if she will make a statement.

Hilary Armstrong: For these purposes, the Prime Minister's Office forms part of the Cabinet Office. The Cabinet Office began to measure carbon emissions from its buildings in 2005-06 and from business air travel in 2004-05.
	The volume of building emissions in the last period for which figures are available is 2,031 tonnes. Efforts to reduce future building emissions will be as part of a wider strategy and hierarchy of actions starting with reducing emissions, using renewable energy and offsetting the remaining balance as part of a cross-Government offsetting scheme.
	Since l April 2006, the Cabinet Office is offsetting official and ministerial business travel as part of its commitment to the Carbon Offsetting of Government Air Travel initiative and as a participant in the Government Carbon Offsetting Fund (GCOF). Flights by the Prime Minister have been offset since 1 April 2005.
	The GCOF aims to fulfil the Prime Minister's commitment to carbon offset all official air travel in central Government and will be available for all central Government Departments to offset emissions from their official air travel in a simple and cost effective manner, as well as ensuring high environmental integrity. The anticipated contribution which the Cabinet Office would need to make to offset air travel emissions over the three-year period covered by the GCOF is 16,530.

Engagements

George Galloway: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster on what dates Ministers in her Department made official visits to the London boroughs of  (a) Tower Hamlets,  (b) Newham and  (c) Waltham Forest in each year since 1997.

Hilary Armstrong: To search diary records prior to May 2005 and identify detailed information would incur disproportionate cost. However, since May 2005 Ministers in this Department have visited the boroughs in question on the following dates:
	 (a) Tower Hamlets:
	2 February 2006, 12 April 2006, 1 June 2006, 10 July 2006, 25 July 2006, 11 September 2006, 1 November 2006, 20 November 2006 and, 13 December 2006
	 (b) Newham:
	14 March 2006 and 12 July 2006
	 (c) Waltham Forest:
	None.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session were not answered  (a) wholly and  (b) in part on disproportionate cost grounds.

Hilary Armstrong: This information is not held in the format requested. However, it is a matter of public record and can be found in the  Official Report.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 session did not receive an answer.

Hilary Armstrong: None.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what guidance has been sent out by the Cabinet Office to other Departments relating to  (a) traffic light grading of parliamentary questions and  (b) unanswered parliamentary questions in the last 12 months.

Hilary Armstrong: None.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Minister without Portfolio how many written parliamentary questions to her in the 2005-06 session did not receive an answer.

Hazel Blears: None.

HEALTH

A and E Closures

Sarah McCarthy-Fry: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the effect on children of greater journey times to suitable facilities as a consequence of closures of accident and emergency units.

Andy Burnham: It is a matter for the local national health service to ensure the provision of urgent and emergency care services, including accident and emergency facilities, that are responsive to people's needs.
	The way the national health service responds to emergencies needs to focus not just on getting the patient to a location but also on taking care to the patient. This is why it is necessary to focus on a range of measures including response times by the ambulance service, its ability to administer a wide range of treatment and provision of urgent and social care in the community.

Acute Services

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what account is taken of  (a) service accessibility,  (b) socio-economic indicators,  (c) clinical need,  (d) the advice of health professionals and (e) the wishes of service users in the siting of acute hospital services;
	(2)  whether hospital service reconfiguration consultations will take future population trends into account.

Andy Burnham: Decisions concerning the siting of acute hospital services are matters for the national health service locally.
	We would expect that a whole range of factors are taken into account to inform and determine such decisions.
	No significant changes to the reconfiguration of health services locally will take place without first consulting local people.

Ambulance Service

Derek Wyatt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many ambulances on emergency call to a property were unable immediately to locate the right address upon arrival in the last two years.

Andy Burnham: The information requested is not collected centrally.

Asthma Inhalers

Kevin Barron: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps she is taking to phase out chlorofluorocarbon-based asthma inhalers for adult patients.

Caroline Flint: The transfer of patients to chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) free metered dose inhalers (MDIs) began in 1995 when the first one was licensed for use in the United Kingdom. Many more have been introduced to the market since that time.
	The Government's plan for phasing out CFCs in asthma inhalers is set out in the UK Transition Strategy for CFC-based MDIs, which was developed after consultation with all relevant stakeholders and published by the Department of Health and the Department for the Environment, Transport and the Regions in 1999. It was communicated widely to healthcare professionals in the national health service, patient groups and patients at that time.
	The Department and the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs continue actively to pursue the phase-out of CFCs in MDIs in accordance with the UK transition strategy. The UK has declared CFCs to be non-essential for three medicines: ipratropium, salbutamol and fluticasone.

Audiology Services

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to publish a national plan for audiology.

Ivan Lewis: A national action plan for audiology will be published soon. The action plan will be aimed at improving access, service delivery and waiting times through the development of a sustainable service model for the service. Implementation of the action plan and its recommendations will be the responsibility of local services.

Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth PCT

Brian Jenkins: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was allocated to Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust in  (a) cash and  (b) real terms in each of the last five years.

Andy Burnham: The following table shows the revenue allocations made to Burntwood, Lichfield and Tamworth Primary Care Trust for the financial years 2003-04 to 2006-07. In 2002-03 the Department made allocations to health authorities.
	
		
			   million 
			   Allocation  Real terms allocation in 2006-07 prices 
			 2003-04 115,514 124,151 
			 2004-05 126,639 132,463 
			 2005-06 138,312 142,023 
			 2006-07 166,710 166,710

Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  if she will list the board members of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust, broken down by stated party political affiliation;
	(2)  if she will list the board members of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust, broken down by area of residence.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested is not held centrally. I have written to the NHS Appointments Commission and asked them to write to my hon. Friend providing information about the chair and non-executive directors of the Central Lancashire Primary Care Trust.
	With regard to the chief executive and other executive directors, national health service organisations must make the interests of chief executives and board members available to the public under the code of accountability in the NHS, but there is no requirement for them to declare this information to the Department.

Centralised Processing

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost has been to date of purchasing surgical instruments to facilitate centralised processing referred to in paragraph 4.31 of her Department's annual report 2006.

Andy Burnham: Instruments are purchased by local national health service bodies, not by the Department. Since 2001-02, however, the Department has allocated some 100 million for the purchase of surgical instruments by NHS trusts. Those instruments were intended to facilitate central processing by reducing the amount of processing done other than in sterile services departments, or by the setting up of an offsite service. From 1 March 2002 to 30 November 2006, the NHS purchased surgical instruments worth some 155 million using the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency's (NHS PASA) framework agreement. This sum includes instruments purchased to replace damaged ones or to increase instrument stock as well as to facilitate centralised reprocessing. NHS trusts may also have purchased instruments without using the NHS PASA framework agreement.

Children's Palliative Care

Stephen O'Brien: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much of the 27 million for children's palliative care services announced by her Department on 30 October 2006 has been  (a) allocated and  (b) spent.

Ivan Lewis: The 27 million is to be spread over three years. Of the 9 million available in financial year 2006-07 we have given funding directly to 35 hospice services, totalling 8,715,696. There is one application still to be determined and we await further information from the organisation concerned. We have agreed with the key stakeholders that the balance of the 9 million for this financial year will contribute to the cost of the review of the long-term sustainability of children's palliative care services.

Clinical Trials

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her Department's timetable is for reviewing the recommendations contained within the report of the independent expert scientific group on clinical trials.

Caroline Flint: The Government fully endorse and support the recommendations made by the expert scientific group on phase one clinical trials. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) has set up an implementation group that has met several times and drawn up a project plan for implementing all the report's recommendations. In particular, the MHRA has already put in place precautionary measures concerning the approval and conduct of trials involving higher risk substances as recommended by the expert scientific group, including access to independent scientific advice. The MHRA expects to have in place an expert advisory group which will report to the commission on human medicines and advise on applications for clinical trials on higher risk substances by the end of March 2007.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department gives to primary care trusts on the provision of cognitive behavioural therapy as part of the national health service.

Rosie Winterton: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) published guidelines to the NHS on the treatment of depression and anxiety in December 2004. NICE gave emphatic support to making evidence-based psychological therapies available as an adjunct or alternative to drug treatments for the treatment of mild to moderate depression, anxiety and schizophrenia.
	The Department of Health has also taken the following actions to help implement the NICE guidelines:
	included psychological therapies alongside drug treatments n the National Service Framework for Mental Health (1999) to show they are just as important as drug treatments, and sometimes referred by service users;
	published an evidence-based guideline Treatment Choice in Psychological Therapies and Counselling in 2001 to help GPs and professionals know more about the most effective treatments for particular conditions;
	published the booklet Choosing Talking Treatments in 2001 for service users and carers to help them know the questions to ask when seeking psychological therapies or counselling;
	published the practical guidance Organising and Delivering Psychological Therapies in July 2004 to help local services understand what best practice should involve. It contains recommendations for how to deliver:
	acceptable, user-friendly services which involve users and carers, provide information and enhance engagement and choice;
	accessible services which manage waits, co-ordinate services and ensure times and locations are appropriate;
	equitable services which reduce inequalities and ensure access for black and minority ethnic and other under-served groups;
	cost-effective services which are targeted, evidence-based, effective and provided locally; and
	safe services in which staff are well-trained and supported, and which are connected to clinical governance systems.
	NICE also issued a technology appraisal TA097 on computerised cognitive behavioural therapies (CCBT) in February 2006. By 31 March 2007, NICE requires all PCTs to provide access to the packages Beating the Blues as an option for the treatment of mild and moderate depression and FearFighter as an option for the treatment of panic and phobia.

Coronary Procedures

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many  (a) coronary artery bypass operations and  (b) percutaneous coronary interventions took place on the NHS in each year since 2000-01 (i) in total and (ii) broken down by strategic health authority.

Rosie Winterton: The information requested has been placed in the Library.

Coronary and Stroke Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health where the 11 pilots to assess different models of heart attack care referred to on page 7 of the National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke's report entitled Mending Hearts and Brains, published 5 December 2006, are situated; what is being assessed at each pilot site; when the pilots were established in each case; when she expects the pilots to conclude in each case; whether she plans to establish more pilot sites; whether results from the pilots will be published; and if she will make a statement.

Rosie Winterton: The pilots referred to in Mending Hearts and Brains are situated in the following locations:
	Leeds General infirmaryWest Yorkshire Primary PCI Service
	Hammersmith, St. Mary's and Harefield hospitalsWest London Primary Angioplasty Service
	Manchester Royal infirmary and Wythenshawe hospitalsPrimary PCI for Greater Manchester
	London Chest hospitalBarts and the London Direct AMI Service
	James Cooke University hospital and University hospital of North Durham(1)South Tees Primary Angioplasty Service
	Royal Devon and Exeter hospitalthe Royal Devon and Exeter Primary Angioplasty Project
	Kings College hospitalSouth East London Primary Angioplasty Pilot
	(1 )North Durham is a control site carrying out thrombolysis.
	The pilot sites were established early in 2005 with the exception of Harefield which joined later in the year. In all cases except in Leeds, sites already had some experience of offering a primary angioplasty service. The Leeds service commenced in March 2005. Patient data for the study has been collected from 1 April 2005 and will be completed by 31 March 2007. There are no plans to establish further pilots.
	An independent evaluation of the pilots is being carried out by the School for Health and Related Research (ScHARR) at the University of Sheffield. The evaluation is addressing the patient experience of primary angioplasty and staffing implications and carrying out detailed costing taking into account the different geographies and service models afforded by the pilots. The sites are contributing to some extent to all the areas of the evaluation but some will be taking part in a more detailed analysis of one particular area. The details have not yet been finalised by ScHARR. ScHARR has recruited further control sites carrying out thrombolysis as the main treatment for heart attack to assist with the evaluation.
	Following receipt of the patient follow up data in March 2007, there will be an interim progress report from the Department and British Cardiovascular Society (BCS). The Department has been working jointly with BCS on this pilot study. A final report from ScHARR and a report from the Department is due in early 2008.

Coronary and Stroke Care

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the evidential basis was for the statement on page 6 of the National Director for Heart Disease and Stroke's report entitled Mending Hearts and Brains, published 5 December 2006, that 250 strokes could be prevented if local hospitals were bypassed; and if she will place in the Library copies of the relevant documentation.

Rosie Winterton: The statement that 250 strokes could be prevented if we had national coverage of primary angioplasty services for treatment of heart attack is an estimate based on the published evidence comparing the risk of stroke from administering thrombolysis, about 2 per cent., and the risk of stroke from primary angioplasty, about 1 per cent.
	A rounded annual figure of 25,000 acute myocardial infarctions was taken from the myocardial infarction national audit project (MINAP). Using this, 500 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke whereas 250 in 25,000 would potentially suffer a stroke of those treated with thrombolysis.
	 Source
	Primary Angioplasty versus intravenous thrombolytic therapy for myocardial infarction: a quantitative review of 23 randomised trialsKeeley, Boura and Grines, The Lancet, Volume 361, Number 9351, 4 January 2003. Copies of this paper have been placed in the Library.

Correspondence

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many letters were received by her Department from hon. Members in each of the last 12 months; how many such letters were responded to within  (a) 10 and  (b) 20 days of receipt; how many were answered after 20 days from the date of receipt; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Cabinet Office, on an annual basis, publishes a report to Parliament on the performance of Departments in replying to Members' and Peers' correspondence. The report for 2005 was published on 30 March 2006,  Official Report, columns 75-78WS. Information relating to 2006 is currently being collated and will be published as soon as it is ready.

Departmental Staff

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many staff have been employed through employment agencies in  (a) her Department and  (b) each of its agencies in each of the last five years for which information is available; and what the (i) average and (ii) longest time was for which these temporary workers were employed in each year.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies; the records we do keep relate to the cost of doing so.
	In the years where information is available, the costs of agency staff were:
	
		
			   
			 2005-2006 12,507,092 
			 2004-2005 12,186,224 
		
	
	
		
			  NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) 
			   2006  2005 
			 Number of temporary staff employed 36 43 
			 Time engaged   
			 Average 3 months 3 months 
			 Longest 10 months 11 months 
		
	
	Medicines and Healthcare Regulations products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
	We do not keep records relating to the number of staff engaged through employment agencies. Each department/division takes responsibility for their own arrangements.
	The costs of agency staff in the years where information is available is shown in the table.
	
		
			   
			 2005-06 2,088.00 
			 2004-05 1,499,000 
			 2003-04 1,058,000

Departmental Studies

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health which studies have been commissioned by her Department from  (a) external agencies,  (b) companies,  (c) academics and  (d) individuals in 2006.

Ivan Lewis: The information requested could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Dermatology

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking to ensure that GPs are referring cases to dermatology services appropriately.

Andy Burnham: Appropriate referral of patients to dermatology services is part of the essential services which primary medical service contractors are required to provide for their registered patients. General practitioners are therefore required under the terms of the contract to ensure the provision of appropriate ongoing treatment and care to all registered patients and temporary residents taking account of their specific needs, including referral of the patient for other services under the National Health Service Act 1977. Primary care trusts are responsible for the management of contracts with providers of primary medical services and taking action if patients do not receive the appropriate care that is required under the terms of the contract.

Doctors: Out of Hours Services

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the number of doctors who have ceased to offer out of hours services as a result of changes made in pay rates offered under revised contracts.

Andy Burnham: This information is not held centrally.

Drug Development Pathway

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to appoint an independent adviser to implement the recommendations of the Cooksey review in respect of the drug development pathway, as stated in paragraph 3.68, pages 56-57, of the pre-Budget report, Cm 6984, published 6 December 2006.

Caroline Flint: The Department is considering possible candidates for the independent adviser position, and an appointment will be made in due course.

Eye Examination

Geoffrey Clifton-Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what services are provided under the routine NHS eye examination; what assessment she has made of the effectiveness of these services in assessing  (a) the health of patients' eyes and  (b) detecting early signs of conditions which can cause deterioration or loss of sight.

Rosie Winterton: By Section 26 of the Opticians Act 1989 and the Sight Testing (Examination and Prescription) (No. 2) Regulations 1989, when a doctor or optometrist is testing the sight of another person it is his duty, as part of that sight test, to perform such examinations of the eye for the purpose of detecting signs of injury, disease or abnormality in the eye or elsewhere:
	(i) an examination of the external surface of the eye and its immediate vicinity;
	(ii) an intra-ocular examination;
	(iii) such additional examinations as appear to the doctor or optometrist to be clinically necessary.
	These requirements apply to all sight tests whether paid for privately or funded by the national health service.
	The doctor or optometrist is then required to give to the patient a statement setting out that they have carried out the examinations required and, following an eye examination under NHS arrangements, that he is or is not referring the patient to a doctor or to an ophthalmic hospital. The patient would also be given a signed written prescription for an optical appliance or a statement setting out that he does not need to wear or use an optical appliance.
	Those at risk of specific eye disease may be asked to attend for more regular checks.
	There has been no formal assessment of the effectiveness of these services. The Department's view is that sight tests provide a good basis for detecting signs of eye disease, and it is encouraging that the number of NHS sight tests continues to increase annually.

Gender Awareness

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has commissioned on gender awareness since 2001.

Caroline Flint: None.
	The Department's Research Governance Framework for Health and Social Care sets out general principles that apply to all research in the national health service. The framework requires that that research, and those pursuing it, should respect the diversity of human society and conditions and the multi-cultural nature of society; and that, where relevant, it should take account of age, disability, gender, sexual orientation, race, culture and religion in its design, undertaking, and reporting.

Genetic Disorders

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients whose parents were first cousins were  (a) diagnosed and  (b) treated for a genetic disorder in each primary care trust in England in the latest year for which figures are available.

Caroline Flint: The Department does not collect such data centrally.

Hospital Choice

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many copies of the document 'Choosing your hospital: National menu - your choice of hospitals across England', were ordered by her Department.

Andy Burnham: 100,000 copies of the 'Choosing your hospital: National Menu' were printed and distributed to primary care trusts for onward distribution to patients via general practitioner practices, other primary care professionals and local libraries.

Hospital Choice

Jeremy Hunt: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of  (a) publishing and  (b) disseminating the publication 'Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England'; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: 'Choosing your hospital: National menuyour choice of hospitals across England', was published in November 2006 on www.nhs.uk. 100,000 hard copies of the booklet were printed for distribution to general practitioner practices and libraries via primary care trusts. The total cost of publication, including the compilation of the necessary information, was 191,000. The cost of distribution was 3,500.

Hospital Infections

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people  (a) in total and  (b) under the age of (i) one and (ii) five died from (A) clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997.

John Healey: I have been asked to reply.
	The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Karen Dunnell, dated 23 January 2007:
	As National Statistician I have been asked to reply to your recent Parliamentary Question asking how many people  (a) in total and  (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old died from (A)  clostridium difficile and (B) MRSA infection in each year since 1997. (116118)
	Special analyses of deaths involving MRSA and clostridium difficile are undertaken annually by ONS for England and Wales. These are published in Health Statistics Quarterly. The latest year for which such figures are available is 2004.
	Information on the numbers of deaths between 1999 and 2004 involving  clostridium difficile was published in Health Statistics Quarterly 30 in May 2006.(1) This report presents data for the number of death certificates which (a) mention  clostridium difficile and (b) list  clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from ONS' special  clostridium difficile database. Data for 1997, 1998, and 2000 are not available.
	
		
			  Table 1: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned clostridium difficile( 1)  and (2) recorded clostridium difficile as the underlying cause of death( 2)  at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old ( 3)  in 1999 and 2001-2004 ( 4) 
			   (1) Mentions  (2) Underlying cause 
			   (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b)(ii) under 5  (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b)(ii) under 5 
			 1999 975 0 0 531 0 0 
			 2001 1,214 0 0 691 0 0 
			 2002 1,428 0 0 756 0 0 
			 2003 1,788 1 1 958 1 1 
			 2004 2,247 0 1 1,245 0 0 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Office for National Statistics (2005) Report: Deaths involving clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004. Health Statistics Quarterly 3Q, 56-60. (2 )Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. (4) Deaths registered in 1999, deaths occurring in 2001-2004. 
		
	
	Information on the number of deaths involving MRSA was published in  Health Statistics Quarterly 29 in February 2006.(2) The report presents data for the number of death certificates which (a) mention MRSA and (b) list MRSA as the underlying cause of death. The table below is extracted from the ONS' special MRSA database.
	
		
			  Table 2: Number of deaths certificates in England and Wales which (1) mentioned MRSA( 1)  and (2) recorded MRSA as the underlying cause of death( 2)  at (a) all ages and (b) under the age of (i) one year old and (ii) five years old,( 3)  1997-2004 
			   (1) Mentions  (2) Underlying cause 
			   (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b) (ii) under 5  (a) Total  (b)(i) under 1  (b) (ii) under 5 
			 1997 389 1 1 102 0 0 
			 1998 412 3 4 118 2 ? 
			 1999 487 0 1 126 0 0 
			 2000 669 0 0 195 0 0 
			 2001 734 1 1 254 0 0 
			 2002 800 0 1 248 0 0 
			 2003 955 2 2 321 0 0 
			 2004 1,168 1 1 360 0 0 
			 (1) Identified using the methodology described in Griffiths C, Lamagni TL,. Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004) Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002. Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22, (2) Excludes neonatal deaths. (3) Total for under five years includes deaths under 1 year of age. 
		
	
	(1) Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving  Clostridium difficile: England and Wales, 1999-2004.  Health Statistics Quarterly 30, 56-60.
	(2) Office for National Statistics (2006) Report: Deaths involving MRSA: England and Wales, 2000-2004.  Health Statistics Quarterly 29, 63-68.
	(3 )Griffiths C, Lamagni TL, Crowcroft NS, Duckworth G and Rooney C (2004). Trends in MRSA in England and Wales: analysis of morbidity and mortality data for 1993-2002.  Health Statistics Quarterly 21, 15-22.

Hospital Visits

Iain Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what research her Department has undertaken on the possible effect on health and recovery rates of visits to patients in hospital by family and friends.

Caroline Flint: None.

Independent Treatment Centres

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she will make an announcement on the establishment of independent treatment centres in Essex.

Andy Burnham: The proposed establishment of independent treatment centres in Essex has reached preferred bidder status. Mercury Health has been selected as the preferred bidder. Subject to further commercial negotiations, contract signature is anticipated in summer 2007. Initial services are expected to commence in autumn 2007, with main services expected to commence in autumn 2008.

Independent Treatment Centres

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what requirement is made of independent treatment centres to contribute towards the training costs incurred for staff previously employed by the national health service.

Andy Burnham: Independent sector treatment centre (ISTC) providers are not required to make any special payment to the national health service to contribute towards the training costs previously incurred for staff previously employed in the NHS.
	The provider of an ISTC is responsible for ensuring that all its staff receive such training, supervision and induction as is necessary to comply with best practice and the terms of the contract for the provision of services.

Influenza

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 8 November 2006,  Official Report, column 1830W, on influenza, which individuals are conducting the independent review of the arrangements in place for the seasonal influenza vaccination programme; when she expects the report of the review to be submitted to her Department; whether she expects to implement the findings of the review in time for the 2007-08 winter influenza immunisation programme; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: The final report of the independent review into the seasonal influenza programme will be submitted to the Department by the end of February 2007. The authors of the report are Dr. Ian Spencer and Dr. Jim Kennedy. An assessment will be made of the recommendations which should be implemented in 2007-08.

IT Projects

Vincent Cable: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many information technology projects within the responsibility of her Department, its agencies and their predecessors have been cancelled since 1997; what the total cost was of each project at cancellation; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not hold records for information technology (IT) projects completed before financial year 1999-2000. IT projects managed by the Department and its agencies with a full business case in excess of 100,000 or more, cancelled in financial year 1999-2000 onwards are listed below by:
	identity of who was managing the project, Department or agency;
	project name
	purpose of project
	financial year of cancellation
	full business case cost; and
	costs incurred at the time of cancellation.
	
		
			  Department of Health: Projects cancelled 2000-07 
			  Project name  Project purpose  Financial year of cancellation  Full business case cost of project ()  Costs incurred up to point of cancellation () 
			 Communications resource management system Improve financial management of resources used by the Departments communications team 2001-02 446,000 232,000

Macugen

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what her policy is on the use of Macugen; and what the estimated annual cost of dosage per case is.

Caroline Flint: The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is expected to publish guidance on Macugen as a treatment for the wet form of age-related macular degeneration in October 2007.
	Where new interventions have not yet been appraised by NICE, primary care trusts are responsible for deciding whether they should be used, taking full account of the available evidence.
	No information is yet available on the annual cost per patient of prescribing Macugen in the national health service.

Management Consultants

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what application process management consultants go through before they are appointed to work for an NHS trust.

Rosie Winterton: The use of external consultants are often required when carrying complex services where the required expertise may not be readily available within the trust to give the technical input necessary to support the tendering process.
	To support trusts in the procurement of external consultancy services, a procurement guide is available from the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (PASA) website.
	A framework contract for consultancy services is available to national health service trusts. This has been produced jointly between NHS PASA and Office of Government Commerce buying Solutions. The total current number of suppliers is 257 including categories such as human resources and financial services.
	The national framework agreements are not mandatory, and therefore some NHS trusts buy services from other sources. The NHS trusts are expected to follow European Union procurement guidelines dependent on the size of the contract. The evaluation criteria are likely to include capability, processed approach and whole life costs.

Maternity Care

Jamie Reed: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the recommended transfer time is for women in labour to a consultant-led maternity unit;
	(2)  how many transfers of women in labour from the maternity unit of the West Cumberland hospital to the Cumberland infirmary have taken place in the last two financial years.

Ivan Lewis: There is no recommended transfer time for women in labour to a consultant-led maternity unit because these situations are dependent on the urgency of the case, distance involved, routes possible, mode of transport, traffic and weather conditions. If the transfer is by ambulance, the response time should equate to the standards for the ambulance service.
	The requested information on transfers between West Cumberland hospital and Cumberland infirmary is not collected centrally.

Medical Research

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will consider amending the remit of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence as part of the work being undertaken to assist in meeting the Government's target of making the UK a world-class environment for medical research.

Caroline Flint: The review of United Kingdom health research funding undertaken by Sir David Cooksey and published on 6 December 2006 took full account of the need to maintain and build on the United Kingdom's world-leading position in medical research and innovation. The Government will take forward the recommendations made in the review team's report as part of this work. We have no plans to review the remit and scope of the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE). NICE already factors impact on innovation into its appraisal work.

Mental Health

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what projects have been undertaken by her Department aimed at targeting inequalities and discrimination in mental health since May 1997; and what the cost was of each.

Rosie Winterton: The principal current campaigns are: Shift, Tackling Stigma And Discrimination, The National Social Inclusion Project (NSIP) and the Delivering Race Equality In Mental Health Care Action Plan (DRE).
	Shift is a five year initiative that began in 2004, intended to reduce the stigma and discrimination experienced by people on grounds of mental ill health, for example, in employment and the media. It is managed by the National Institute for Mental Health in England (NIMHE) and funded by the Department. It received 900,000 in 2003-04 and 1 million in 2004-05. More information about the campaign is available at www.shift.org.uk .
	NSIP is a three year programme, led by NIMHE, co-ordinating cross-Government action to implement the Social Exclusion Unit's report 'Mental Health and Social Exclusion', published in June 2004. It is designed to reduce and remove the barriers to employment, mainstream services and community participation for those with mental health problems. NSIP's budget is 650,000. More information is available at www.socialinclusion.org.uk .
	DRE is a five year programme launched in January 2005. It addresses the acknowledged inequalities in access to mental health services, experience of services and outcomes from services that some people from black and minority ethnic communities can suffer. Resources for the programme include 16 million annually in primary care trust baseline allocations to fund 500 community development workers and around 2 million to fund 80 local community engagement projects. More information is available at www.dh.gov.uk/bmementalhealth .
	The Shift campaign's predecessors were the 'Mind Out' anti-stigma campaign that ran from 2001 until 2004 at a total cost of 3.473 million/and the 'Impact Strategy', 1997 - 2001, for public information about mental health issues. Total cost 5.7 million.

Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust

Mark Lancaster: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects Milton Keynes Primary Care Trust to announce measures to meet its revised budget.

Andy Burnham: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts (PCTs) and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service (NHS) trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services while achieving financial balance.
	In the minority of NHS organisations with deficits, the targets we have set, for example on waiting times and access to cancer treatment, are being met. The overall quality of services to patients continues to improve. However, we do not underestimate the tough decisions needed by a minority of organisations to restore financial balance. Our performance and turnaround teams continue to work with the most challenged organisations to reduce forecast deficits.

National Institute for Health Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to establish the National Institute for Health Research as an Executive Agency of the Department of Health.

Caroline Flint: The recommendation in Sir David Cooksey's review of United Kingdom health research funding is that the executive agency should be set up by April 2009. The Department has accepted the recommendation.

Newcastle City Council: Social Services Provision

Nick Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions her officials have had with Newcastle City Council on the standard of  (a) adult and  (b) children's social services provided by the authority.

Ivan Lewis: Officials of the Department have had no discussions with Newcastle City Council regarding adult social services. Children's services are the responsibility of my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Skills.
	I am informed by the Chair of the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) that in CSCI's Performance Ratings for Adults' Social Services in England, published in November 2006, Newcastle City Council's rating fell from three to two stars. As a result of this fall, CSCI is in the process of discussing with Newcastle City Council the plan for service inspections to be carried out in the 2006-07 performance inspection year.

NHS: Barnet

Andrew Dismore: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many residents of Barnet primary care trust area received  (a) out-patient and  (b) in-patient treatment in (i) 1997-98 and (ii) 2005-06; how many have received each type of treatment in 2006-07; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: The out-patient data requested is not held centrally. The following table shows the latest figures available for finished in-patient admissions for residents of Barnet primary care trust.
	
		
			  Count of finished in year admissions (in-patient data) and appointment count (out-patient data) for residents of Barnet PCTdata for NHS hospitals England 
			   PCT of residence (based on patients' postcode)  PCT of responsibility (based on patients' GP postcode) 
			  Data year  In-patients admissions  Out-patients appointments attended  In-patients admissions  Out-patients appointments attended 
			 1997-98 53,286 n/a 54,499 n/a 
			 2005-06 65,485 n/a 69,247 n/a 
			 n/a = data not available.  Notes:  In-patients footnotes: Finished in-year admissions: A finished in-year admission is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider, excluding admissions beginning before 1 April at the start of the data year. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  Data quality: 1. Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) are compiled from data sent by over 300 NHS Trusts and Primary Care Trusts (PCTs) in England. 2. The Health and Social Care Information Centre liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.  Ungrossed data: Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority (SHA) data quality: PCT and SHA data was added to historic data-years in the HES database using 2002-03 boundaries, as a one-off exercise in 2004. The quality of the data on PCT of Treatment and SHA of Treatment is poor in 1996-97, 1997-98 and 1998-99, with over a third of all finished episodes having missing values in these years. Data quality of PCT of GP practice and SHA of GP practice in 1997-98 and 1998-99 is also poor, with a high proportion missing values where practices changed or ceased to exist. There is less change in completeness of the residence-based fields over time, where the majority of unknown values are due to missing postcodes on birth episodes. Users of time series analysis including these years need to be aware of these issues in their interpretation of the data.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for Health and Social Care  Out-patients footnotes: Attended or did not attend: This indicates whether or not a patient attended an appointment. If the patient did not attend an indication of whether or not advanced warning was given. Analysis of 'did not attend' and 'cancellations' must be restricted to only the trusts which return data.  Source: Hospital Episode Statistics (HES); Out-patients, The Information Centre for Health and Social Care

NHS Cost

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much the NHS cost the public purse in 2005-06; and how much this equated to per tax paying citizen.

Andy Burnham: National health service expenditure is not usually presented in the format per tax paying citizen.
	Total NHS expenditure for 2005-06 was 76.4 billion. (Estimated outturn)
	The total number of individual income tax payers in 2005-06 was 29,700,000. (Figure taken from HMT, HMRC/stats/tax receipts/tablel-4).

NHS Direct

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the estimated annual cost is to the public purse of providing NHS Direct through Freeview.

Andy Burnham: NHS Direct Special Health Authority indicate that the cost of providing NHS Direct interactive service on the Freeview platform is 800,000 plus VAT per year.
	The service was launched on 20 December 2006 so the costs for this financial year, 2006-07, will be 230,000.

NHS Finance

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health whether  (a) contingency funds and  (b) funds created by top-slicing primary care trust (PCT) allocations are being distributed to other PCTs and trusts in 2006-07; and whether the resulting out-turn figures will record the overspends of these trusts, exclusive of the in-year financial support.

Andy Burnham: The provision of in-year financial support is no longer permitted. Deficits in national health service organisations must rest where they fall. In 2006-07, strategic health authorities (SHAs) have the power to agree a top slice with their primary care trusts (PCTs) in order to create a reserve which may then be needed by the SHA to record financial balance across the patch. Transactions to create these resources must be fully reflected in the accounts of each organisation.
	PCTs which make a contribution to their SHA reserve will be repaid, normally within the three-year allocation cycle, but the reserves will not be used to support directly other organisations.

NHS Finance

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the impact NHS budget deficits are having on spending on health improvement.

Caroline Flint: There are no central returns on spending on health improvement for an assessment of this kind.

NHS Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what elements are covered by the category Other in figure 6.1, page 104 of her Department's annual report.

Andy Burnham: The other category of 2,312 million includes ambulance expenditure of 1,176 million, the other 1,137 is attributable to other services and expenditure.

NHS Finance

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what proportion of figure 6.1, page 104 of her Department's annual report was spent on administration outside headquarters.

Andy Burnham: The figure quoted in figure 6.1 for headquarters administration refers to both primary care trust and strategic health authority administration. Trust administration is included within the 'other' category. Further disaggregation of where expenditure has been consumed is not available.

NHS Research Budget

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the budget of the  (a) Medical Research Council and  (b) NHS research and development has been in each year from 1997-98 to 2006-07 in (i) real and (ii) cash terms; and what she expects the combined budgets to be in  (A) 2007-08 and  (B) 2008-09.

Caroline Flint: The historic and current funding information requested is shown in the following table:
	
		
			   million 
			   Medical Research Council  NHS Research and Development 
			   Cash( 1)  Real terms( 2)  Cash  Real terms( 2) 
			 1997-98 289 358 426 528 
			 1998-99 290 350 420 508 
			 1999-2000 305 361 434 514 
			 2000-01 319 373 448 523 
			 2001-02 350 399 475 542 
			 2002-03 372 412 506 560 
			 2003-04 430 462 533 573 
			 2004-05 458 479 601 629 
			 2005-06 503 516 617 634 
			 2006-07 503 503 659 659 
			 (1) Figures for years to 2000-01 are cash based and for later years are expenditure based. (2) 2006-07 cash equivalent calculated using the gross domestic product deflator. 
		
	
	The Medical Research Council budget for 2007-08 will be 546 million, and for NHS research and development will be 730 million. Budget allocations for 2008-09 have yet to be agreed.

NHS Services

Colin Challen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition her Department uses of the word disproportionate in section F, para 3.30 Expenditure in the Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS Services; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: The Code of Practice for Promotion of NHS Services makes it clear that responsibility for appropriate expenditure on advertising and promotion to general practitioners, patients and the public lies with providers' boards. It proposes two options around controlling expenditure on promotion:
	recording and disclosure of annual spend on promotion; or
	limiting expenditure.
	It asks for views on these options, on how the level of any cap on expenditure should be determined and on the proposed definition of expenditure.
	This is a consultation and the Department will listen carefully to stakeholder responses before deciding on the final approach.

NHS Services: Reconfiguration

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what discussions the chief executive of the national health service has held with the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State with responsibility for Care Services on reconfigurations of NHS services since November 2006.

Ivan Lewis: I have had no discussions regarding reconfigurations of NHS services with the chief executive of the national health service since November 2006.

NHS Trusts

Tim Loughton: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will list the NHS trusts in negotiation with Monitor for take-over by foundation trusts.

Andy Burnham: The Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, West Midlands SHA and the Birmingham East and North PCT are currently consulting on a proposal for the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust to acquire Good Hope Hospital NHS Trust.
	Ministers and Monitor (whose statutory name is the Independent Regulator of NHS Foundation Trusts) will need to consider the proposal. The acquisition will only proceed if the new organisation is financially viable as a foundation trust.
	We are not aware that any further trusts are in negotiation with Monitor for take-over by foundation trusts.

Nurses

Andrew George: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many nurses employed in each NHS trust were  (a) trained in and  (b) the nationals of developing countries before coming to the UK in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: This information is not collected centrally.

Nurses: Training

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many students enrolled on  (a) (i) diploma courses and (ii) in degree courses in nursing,  (b) allied health professional courses and  (c) part-time post-registration continuing professional development courses in each training establishment in each of the last five years.

Rosie Winterton: Information on the number of students enrolled on nursing diploma and degree courses as well as allied health professional courses in each of the last five years is shown in the tables.
	This information broken down by each training establishment and information on numbers on part-time post-registration continuing professional development courses is not collected centrally.
	
		
			  Pre-registration nursing and midwifery training commissions 
			   Nursing Diploma  Degree  Total  Midwifery Degree  Diploma  Total  Other  Total 
			 2001-02 18,141 2,483 20,624 621 525 1,146 732 21,770 
			 2002-03 18,980 2,543 21,523 709 724 1,433 677 22,956 
			 2003-04 19,957 2,858 22,815 753 716 1,469 757 24,284 
			 2004-05 19,993 3,384 23,377 895 744 1,639 735 25,016 
			 2005-06 19,648 3,582 23,230 1,042 517 1,559 661 24,789 
			  Source: Quarterly monthly returns 
		
	
	
		
			  Pre-registration allied health professional training commissions 
			   2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 Physiotherapy 1,780 2,157 2,343 2,357 2,400 
			 Occupational therapy 1,563 1,692 1,822 1,925 1,961 
			 Radiography 948 1,227 1,411 1,461 1,555 
			 Diagnostic 730 942 1,105 1,158 1,241 
			 Therapeutic 218 285 306 303 314 
			 Orthoptics 60 45 59 73 68 
			 Speech therapy 553 597 630 740 797 
			 Prosthetics and orthotics 27 30 29 35 27 
			 Dietetics 237 279 353 306 386 
			 Chiropody 345 427 451 559 446 
			 Total 5,513 6,454 7,098 7,456 7,640 
			  Sources: QMR = NMET quarterly monitoring reports

Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health when she expects to establish the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research.

Caroline Flint: Work to establish the Office for Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research (OSCHR) is in progress and John Bell, Regius Professor of Medicine at Oxford University has been appointed as interim chair. We aim to establish OSCHR as soon as practicable.

Outsourced Data

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what NHS  (a) patient records services and  (b) back office functions (i) have been and (ii) are planned to be outsourced to India; and if she will make a statement.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 11 January 2007
	Information is not held centrally on the number of national health service organisations which currently outsource aspects of patient record management or the typing of patient records, or back office functions, to agencies overseas.
	In the future, each consenting person using the NHS will have a personal electronic care record held within the NHS care records service (NHS CRS). The NHS CRS is the lynchpin of the new modern, integrated information technology (IT) infrastructure and systems and services being implemented through the national programme for IT. No national IT systems maintaining patient record services have been outsourced to India and there is no intention to do so. It is known that iSOFT plc, one of the application software subcontractors, is developing software in India. This software is operated exclusively within England.
	Contracts let by the Department's NHS Connecting for Health agency, which is responsible for delivering the national programme, expressly preclude the transfer of patient information outside the United Kingdom. NHS Shared Business Services Ltd, a 50/50 joint venture between the Department and Xansa, currently provides financial and accounting services to over 100 NHS trusts and other NHS bodies. At present, 28.5 per cent. of their work is handled through an outsourcing contract to Xansa PLC's India-based operation. The partners have agreed that no more than 60 per cent. of work can be offshored through this venture.
	These developments are entirely in keeping with the Government's overall objective of maximising value for money across the NHS, and the public sector as a whole.

Oxygen Cylinders

David Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost was of the supply of oxygen cylinders to NHS outpatients in each strategic health authority in each year since 2002-03.

Caroline Flint: For the financial years 2002-03 to 2005-06, the cost of oxygen cylinders dispensed in the community was:
	
		
			   Total ( million) 
			 2002-03 9.8 
			 2003-04 13.9 
			 2004-05 10.5 
			 2005-06 14.4 
		
	
	These figures do not include oxygen dispensed in hospitals, including mental health trusts, or private prescriptions and are not available at strategic health authority-level.
	With the introduction of the new, integrated, home oxygen service in February 2006, costs relate to the specific service(s) ordered and not to oxygen equipment, primary care trusts are responsible for managing the service contract and the Department does not hold information centrally on specific services supplied to patients.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many written parliamentary questions to her Department were answered with a reply that it had not been possible to reply before prorogation in the 2005-06 session.

Ivan Lewis: None.

Parliamentary Questions

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department were not answered  (a) wholly or  (b) in part on disproportionate cost grounds in the 2005-06 Session;
	(2)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department were answered with a referral back to previous answers in the 2005-06 Session;
	(3)  how many written parliamentary questions to her Department in the 2005-06 Session did not receive an answer.

Ivan Lewis: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given to the hon. Member for Yeovil (Mr. Laws) on 19 December 2006,  Official Report, column 1935W.

Pharmaceutical Industry

Lindsay Hoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the role of the pharmaceutical industry in reaching the goal of the UK becoming a world centre in medical research.

Caroline Flint: The pharmaceutical industry competitiveness task force has defined speed of trial initiation and data delivery, data quality, and cost as the principal factors pharmaceutical companies use in deciding where to conduct clinical research. The Department is focussing on improving performance and reliability in these areas via the Government's health research strategy Best Research for Best Health and the activities of United Kingdom clinical research collaboration (UKCRC).
	Best Research for Best Health includes plans for bureaucracy busting to enable approved trails to start up more quickly. This objective will be supported by the use of the model agreements that have recently been agreed between the national health service and industry.
	The Department works closely with industry to improve the research environment in other ways through, for example, the UKCRC industry road map group, and secondments from industry to the UK clinical research network.

Primary Care: Occupancy Rate

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the occupancy rate is of primary care health care facilities constructed by local improvement finance trusts in  (a) London and  (b) England outside London, broken down by primary care trust.

Andy Burnham: This information is not collected centrally. It is for each local primary care trust to ensure it develops, with its LIFT company, the right facility in the right location to support its vision of service modernisation, as detailed in its strategic service development plan.

Public Health Initiatives

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if she will take steps to ring-fence funds for public health initiatives.

Caroline Flint: Revenue funding has been notionally allocated for Choosing Health in 2006-07. Although this is not ring-fenced, strategic health authorities are required to deliver on Choosing Health outcomes, as agreed in their local delivery plans
	The national health service must be free to make its own local spending decisions and we do not believe it is necessary to increase the burden on the NHS by collecting and monitoring details of their expenditure.

Residential Care Homes

Graham Stuart: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people in residential care homes paid third party top up fees in the East Riding of Yorkshire in each year since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Ivan Lewis: Information about top-up fees is not collected centrally. The Office of Fair Trading report, Survey of older people in care homes, published in May 2005, stated that 33 per cent. of the United Kingdom local authority-funded residents it interviewed had part of their fees paid as a third-party contribution or top-up.

Residential Care Homes

Nigel Waterson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what proportion of people in residential care homes paid third party top up fees in  (a) Eastbourne and  (b) East Sussex in each year since 1997.

Ivan Lewis: This information is not collected centrally in the form requested. However, in the United Kingdom wide survey of care homes conducted by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) for their report Care Homes for Older People in the UK, published in May 2005, the OFT found that the average care home in the UK had 32 places of which seven were paid for by a combination of the local authority and a third party top-up.

Retirement Age

Mike Hancock: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the answer of 4 December 2006,  Official Report, columns 189-90, on the retirement age, what her Department's policy is on the application of the national default retirement age to staff below the senior civil service.

Ivan Lewis: With effect from 1 October 2006, the Department has adopted the default retirement age of 65 for all employees. Employees who attain the age of 60 years after 1 October 2006 are entitled to choose whether to retire or to remain in employment for a period of their choosing, up to age 65. Employees will receive a letter from their human resources team six months before they reach age 60 setting out both options.

Revascularisation

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate her Department has made of the appropriate rate for revascularisation procedures per million people for  (a) 2007,  (b) 2011 and  (c) 2016.

Rosie Winterton: Information is not available for the years requested. However, the table shows the national projected revascularisation rates for the years 2008, 2010 and 2015, based upon three scenarios. These scenarios have been modelled based upon an assessment of current English and international trends and in consultation with cardiac network clinical leads.
	
		
			  Revascularisation numbers and ratesnational projections 
			Data  Revascularisation rates per million people 
			   Scenario (per million people)  PQ  CABG  Revasc  Population  England 
			 2008 1900 65902.2 22500.0 88402.2 51069642.6 1731 
			  2200 71459.3 22500.0 93959.3 51069642.6 1840 
			  2500 76605.3 22500.0 99105.3 51069642.6 1941 
			 2010 1900 68622.4 22500.0 91122.4 51576184.2 1767 
			  2200 76741.5 22500.0 99241.5 51576184.2 1924 
			  2500 84433.3 22500.0 106933.3 51576184.2 2073 
			 2015 1900 77883.1 22500.0 100383.1 52849008.8 1899 
			  2200 93699,9 22500.0 116199.9 52849008.8 2199 
			  2500 109563.2 22500.0 132063.2 52849008.8 2499

Royal Hospital, Haslar

Peter Viggers: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what arrangements have been made for the continuation of services at the Royal hospital, Haslar, after 31 March 2007.

Caroline Flint: It is the responsibility of primary care trusts and strategic health authorities to analyse their local situation and develop plans, in liaison with their local national health service trusts and primary care providers, to deliver high quality NHS services.

Service Reductions

Paul Burstow: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what advice her Department has issued to hospital trusts on dealing with public protests about service reductions; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: No such guidance has been issued to the national health service.

Sexual Health

Sandra Gidley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress has been made by the 300 million programme announced in November 2004 to modernise and transform sexual health services at a local level; and how the money has been spent.

Caroline Flint: In February 2005, individual primary care trusts PCTs were notified of their revenue allocations for 2006-07 and 2007-08. strategic health authorities (SHAs) were notified of their capital allocations in February 2006. The overall allocation for sexual health from Choosing Health funding was over 250 million for those two years. It is for SHAs and PCTs to determine how this funding is allocated to meet the healthcare needs of their local populations.
	We are making good progress on the 48 hour access to genito-urinary clinics. Overall the results show a continued quarterly increase in the percentage of attendees seen within 48 hours, from 48 per cent. in August 2005 to 65 per cent. in November 2006.
	We are continuing to roll out the national chlamydia screening programme. Findings for the first three years show that screening volumes are increasing over time from just over 18,000 in year one to over 63,000 in year two and over 104,000 in year three.
	We have completed a national baseline review of contraceptive services in England to enable PCTs to identify gaps in service provision at local level and we will be publishing the national findings soon.
	The new adult sexual health campaign, Condom Essential Wear, launched in November 2006 targets hard to reach 18 to 24-year-old men and woman who engage in sexually risky behaviour and are therefore at risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
	The campaign promotes condom use and raises awareness about the prevalence and invisibility of STIs. It includes television, radio, press and digital advertising, a consumer and stakeholder website and significant PR and partnership activity. 4 million has been spent on the campaign so far this year, an funding for the next financial year is currently under consideration.
	Condom Essential Wear is one of three current Government campaigns working to improve sexual health and reduce teenage pregnancy, complimenting the Department for Education and Skills teenage pregnancy campaigns R U Thinking aimed at 13 to 16-year-olds and Want Respect? Use a Condom aimed at 16 to 18-year-olds. In 2006-07 the Department contributed 1.61 million to the Department for Education and Skills for these campaigns.

Sexual Health

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people visited each sexual health clinic for testing for sexually transmitted infection in Hertfordshire in each year since 1997; and what percentage of patients were seen within 24 hours.

Caroline Flint: The number of first attendances at genito-urinary medicine (GUM) clinics in east and north Hertfordshire primary care trust (PCT) and west Hertfordshire PCT, 1997 to 2005 is given in the table.
	Clinic level data are not released to the public by the Health Protection Agency without prior consent of the clinics concerned. The table therefore presents data for all clinics within the two PCTs.
	First attendances are attendances for a new episode of a sexually transmitted infection (STI). All patients attending the GUM clinic for a new STI episode are offered a full sexual health screen. The patient may be a new or an existing patient. First attendances do not include attendances for follow-up consultations.
	The number of attendances may be slightly underreported in the KC60 surveillance.
	
		
			   Number of first attendances 
			 1997 9,585 
			 1998 10,911 
			 1999 11,815 
			 2000 12,555 
			 2001 13,496 
			 2002 13,888 
			 2003 13,528 
			 2004 11,471 
			 2005 10,992 
			  Source:  STI KC60 statutory returns from 1997 to 2005, Health Protection Agency. 
		
	
	The percentage of people seen within 24 hours at GUM clinics is not collected centrally. The November 2006 summary data on the percentage of patients seen with 48 hours can be found in Waiting times for Genito-urinary Medicine clinics: Results from the November 2006 audit, copies of which are available in the Library and is available at:
	www.hpa.org.uk/infections/topics_az/hiv_and_sti/epidemiology/results_november_2006.htm.

Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the cost to her Department was of the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group in 2005-06; and what programmes it has funded with public money since its launch.

Rosie Winterton: The Department provided 102,000 for the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Advisory Group for the financial year 2005-06. The Department is also committed to spending 100,000 for the financial year 2006-07. The funding covers a range of programmes to promote equality and eliminate discrimination for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in health and social care, as both service users and employees.

Simvastatin

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate she has made of the effects on costs to the public purse of prescribing Simvastatin instead of Atorvastatin or other branded statins; and what the timetable is for Simvastatin to be prescribed instead of branded statins.

Caroline Flint: The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement recently published the Better Care, Better Value indicators for the second quarter of this financial year. The statins indicator shows that if every primary care trust (PCT) achieved levels of prescribing of lower cost statins similar to the top quarter of PCTs then 84.7 million could be released for patient care. There are no targets, but we expect PCTs and clinicians to be aware that they can help treat more patients by prescribing one of the lower cost statins where it is clinically appropriate.

Skin Cancer

Ian Austin: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps her Department is taking  (a) to improve data on cancer and  (b) to monitor the quality of service given to skin cancer patients.

Rosie Winterton: Data collected on cancer incidence, survival and mortality is provided by nine cancer registries, which cover all of England, and the Office for National Statistics uses data from registries to summarise and analyse cancer data at the national level. The cancer registries provide a comprehensive population based count of all cancers, which is recognised as one of the best in the world. The registries have provided full coverage of England since the 1960s and since the cancer plan the Department has invested over 6 million in cancer registry modernisation to help them work more efficiently. We are also introducing a national cancer registry dataset, which will standardise cancer data collection. This will provide for more consistent quality and analytical interpretation of data for monitoring cancer services and trends within the population. It will also help reduce duplication and help facilitate linkage to the new electronic patient record.
	In February 2006, the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence published improving outcomes guidance for people with skin tumours including melanoma. The guidance is now being translated into a series of measures for inclusion in the manual for cancer services. The manual supports quality assurance of cancer services and enables quality improvement. The manual is aimed at all commissioners and providers of national health service cancer services and progress against the measures can be used for self-assessment or peer review.

Social Care Recruitment

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much her Department has spent on social care recruitment campaigns in each year since 1997-98.

Ivan Lewis: The Department began the social care campaign in 2003-04 so we only have figures for the three most recent financial years.
	The table sets out the cost of social care recruitment campaigns for years 2003 to 2006.
	
		
			  Social care recruitment campaigns 
			million 
			 2003-04 2.81 
			 2004-05 1.28 
			 2005-06 1.82

Statistics

Theresa May: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the process is for deciding the date of publication of statistics prepared by or relating to the Department; and who is involved in that process.

Ivan Lewis: The National Statistics Code of Practice (2002), which serves as a model for all public sector statistical work, established the principle that final responsibility for the content, format and timing of release of National Statistics rests with the head of profession for statistics in each Department. In reaching their decisions, the statistics heads of profession in the Department and the Information Centre (IC) for health and social care take into consideration the detailed procedural guidance given in the National Statistics Protocol on Release Practices
	Copies of the code of practice and its 12 supporting protocols are available in the Library and are also available from:
	www.statistics.gov.uk/about/national_statistics/cop/default.asp
	The Department compliance statement with the code of practice (which currently covers the IC) can be is available from:
	www.dh.gov.uk/PublicationsAndStatistics/Statistics/CodeOfPractice/fs/en.

Trade Union Funding

Oliver Heald: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what funding her Department has given to individual trade unions in the last three years.

Ivan Lewis: The Department does not fund trade unions. Our staff are encouraged to consider joining a trade union and we therefore have a facilities agreement, which allows for some staff salary and subsistence costs to be met by the Department in keeping with good employer practice. These costs are to support civil servants undertaking trade union activities.

Trans Fats

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what research her Department has undertaken into the level of trans fats in products provided by fast food and drink outlets; and if she will make a statement;
	(2)  what steps she is taking to encourage fast food and drink outlets to reduce the level of trans fats in their food products.

Caroline Flint: Limited information on the levels of trans fats present in the types of food products available in fast food outlets is published in McCance and Widdowson's 'The Composition of Foods'.
	The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has no plans to carry out further analyses. Results from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (2000-01) which looks at dietary intakes shows that intakes of trans fats are within maximum recommended intakes, whereas saturated fat intakes currently exceed public health recommendations. Consequently saturated fat intakes represent the greater heart health risk and remain the priority for Government.
	The FSA welcomes and encourages the voluntary initiatives some businesses, including the fast food sector and the catering sector more widely, have undertaken to reduce the trans fats levels in their food products. However, any product reformulation to reduce the levels of trans fats, generally through the removal of partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, should not result in increases in the saturated fat levels in foods.

Waiting Times

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health pursuant to the oral answer by the Prime Minister of 13 December 2006,  Official Report, column 865, on engagements, if she will publish the data from which the Prime Minister's statement derived that hundreds of thousands of people used to wait for 12 months for an NHS operation when she came to office.

Andy Burnham: The data requested, covering the period 1992-93 to 1996-97, are shown in the following table.
	
		
			Number of people waiting for in-patient treatment who had been waiting longer than 12 months since the decision to admit 
			 1992-93 June 84,916 
			 1992-93 September 80,581 
			 1992-93 December 72,869 
			 1992-93 March 56,877 
			 1993-94 June 65,832 
			 1993-94 September 71,022 
			 1993-94 December 75,107 
			 1993-94 March 64,508 
			 1994-95 June 65,480 
			 1994-95 September 62,341 
			 1994-95 December 54,834 
			 1994-95 March 32,194 
			 1995-96 June 32,759 
			 1995-96 September 27,938 
			 1995-96 December 20,488 
			 1995-96 March 4,576 
			 1996-97 June 10,399 
			 1996-97 September 14,993 
			 1996-97 December 22,161 
			 1996-97 March 31,208 
			  Source:  KH07 return (provider based)

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  whether she expects West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust to have a financial deficit at the end of 2006-07; and whether the calculations will include pre-existing debt;
	(2)  what the level of debt is within West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust including pre-existing debt; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: At the end of quarter two 2006-07, West Hertfordshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust is forecasting a financial year-end deficit of 11.5 million. This does not include the cumulative deficit of 41.2 million the trust reported at the end of 2005-06.
	The historic cumulative surplus/deficit of West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Cumulative surplus/(deficit) (000) 
			 1997-98 0 
			 1998-99 0 
			 1999-2000 0 
			 2000-01 17 
			 2001-02 (11,470) 
			 2002-03 198 
			 2003-04 (4,454) 
			 2004-05 (14,432) 
			 2005-06 (41,217)

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much private finance initiative funding West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust has received since 1997; and if she will make a statement.

Andy Burnham: West Hertfordshire Hospitals National Health Service Trust has not had any private finance initiative funding. I understand, however, that the trust is still working to centralise acute services at its Watford hospital site and continues to support plans to develop the new Watford health campus.

West Herts NHS Trust

Anne Main: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what recent representations she has received from West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS trust on  (a) financial and  (b) organisational assistance with their budget deficits.

Andy Burnham: The Secretary of State has not had representations made to her or her Ministers by West Hertfordshire Hospital National Health Service Trust. Departmental officials met with representatives of the trust, on 31 July this year to discuss the trust's financial position. The trust has a turnaround director and agreed turnaround plan in place.

Zimbabwean Beef

John Hayes: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what currency the NHS uses to purchase Zimbabwean beef; who the NHS purchasers are of such beef; and what volume of beef was bought by each purchaser in the last period for which figures are available.

Andy Burnham: As far as we are aware there is no central sourcing of beef from Zimbabwe on behalf of the NHS.